PRIMITIVE  SEMITIC 
RELIGION  TODAY 

SAMUEL  IVES  0URTIS6 


4* 


♦  ♦ 


r     FEB  26  1903      * 


i~\:. 


/^ 


BL    1600    .C8    1902 

Curtiss,  Samuel  Ives,  1844- 

1904. 
Primitive  Semitic  religion 


■h  r\r\  a^r 


PRIMITIVE  SEMITIC  RELIGION 

TO-DAY 


PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC 
R  ELIG  ION   TO-DAY 


A  RECORD  OF  RESEARCHES,  DISCOV- 
ERIES AND  STUDIES  IN  SYRIA,  PALES- 
TINE   AND  THE   SINAITIC  PENINSULA 


BY 


\-' 


SAMUEL  IVES  CURTISS 

PROFESSOR  OF  OLD  TESTAMENT  LITERATURE  AND  INTERPRETATION 
CHICAGO    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY 


FLEMING     H.     REVELL     COMPANY 

CHICAGO,    NEW    YORK,    TORONTO.      MCCCCII 


Copyright,  1902 

By  FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 

Chicago 


TO   THOSE    MISSIONARIES   AND   TO 

ALL   OTHERS   IN   SYRIA   AND    PALESTINE   WHO    HAVE 

BEEN   MY   COMPANIONS   IN  TRAVEL 

HAVE    RECEIVED    ME   INTO   THEIR   HOMES 

OR   AIDED    ME   IN   ANY   WAY 

THIS   VOLUME   IS 

GRATEFULLY   DEDICATED 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I.    Introductory i? 

II.    Sketch  of  Preliminary  Travels,   1898-1899  22 

III.    Special  Researches,  Summers  of   1900,  1901  34 

■ — ^'IV.    Sources  of  Primitive  Semitic  Religion     -  49 

V.    Modern  Semites 5^ 

VI.    Conceptions  of  God        .....  63 

VII.    The  Local  Divinities 75 

VIII.    The  Deified  Men 96 

IX.    Physical  Relation  of  Man  TO  God  -       -       -  112 

X.    Moral  Relation  of  Man  to  God  -        -        -  124 

XI.    The  High  Places  and  Sacred  Shrines    -       -  133 

XII.    Priests  and  "Holy  Men"     ...       -  144 

XIII.  Vows  and  Annual  Festivals    -       -       -       -  156 

XIV.  The  Institution  of  Sacrifice        .       .       -  170 
XV.    The  Use  of  Blood 181 

XVI.    Redemption,  and  "The  Bursting   Forth  of 

Blood" i94 

XVII.    The  Significance  of  Sacrifice  -       -        -       -  218 

XVIII.    The  Place  OF  Sacrifice 229 

XIX.    Conclusion 238 

APPENDICES 

A.  Questions  on  the  Survivals  of  Ancient  Religion 

IN  Bible  Lands 247 

B.  Outline  of  Journeys  in  Syria,  Palestine,  Egypt, 

-■ AND    the    SiNAITIC    PENINSULA           -           -           -           -  249 

C.  The  Seven  Wells  at  Beersheba        ...  255 

D.  The  Prose  Version  of  the  Story  of  'Arja    -       -  257 

7 


8  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 

PAGE 

E.  High  Places  and  Sacred  Shrines       ...         260 

F.  The  Samaritan  Passover    -.-.-.      264 

G.  Altars  and  Sacrifices  in  the  Primitive  Art  of 

Babylonia.    By  the  Rev.  W.  Hayes  Ward,  D.D., 
LL.D. 266 


INDICES 

Names 279 

Subjects 282 

List  of  Arabic  and  Other  Semitic  Words    -       -        -  285 

Scripture  References 286 

Quotations  from  the  Koran 288 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Well  at  Beersheba 36 

Unopened  Well  AT  Beersheba 37 

Gadis  from  the  East        -        .       .       .               -       -  38 

Sacred  Grove  at  the  "  Mother  of  Pieces"   -       -  44 

Platform  of  the  "  Mother  of  Pieces"          -        -        -  45 

Part  of  the  "Chair  OF  THE  Leaders"        ...  46 

Shrine  of  Aaron  on  Mount  Hor 79 

Cenotaph  of  Aaron 81 

Mar  Risha  at  Karyaten 85 

The  Rock  of  Job  at  Sheik  Sa'd 86 

Sacred  Tree  Hung  with  Rags 91 

Shrine  of  Nusairiyeh  at  Der  Maria       ...  143 

Priest  or  Minister  of  the  Mezar  at  Jafar         -       -  146 

Shrine  of  Nebi  Daud,  Jerusalem        ...        -  157 

Grave  of  Holy  Man  near  Medeba        ....  i7g 

Shrine  in  the  Land  of  Ammon  -       .        -        -        .  185 

Shrine  of  St.  George 187 

Blood  Marks  of  Arabs  on  the  Shrine  of  Abu  Obeida  193 

Great  Water-Wheel  at  Hamath        ....  igS 

Sacred  Trees  and  Rock  Altar  at  Yazuz     -       -       -  234 

Dolmen-Altar  with  Hollows  for  Blood        -       -  234 

Dolmen  near  Zerka  Main 235 

Specimen  of  Altar  at  the  Gizeh  Museum         -       -  235 

General  Plan  of  High  Place  at  Petra         -        -        -  236 

Ancient  Place  for  Slaughtering  Sacrifice  at  Petra  237 
Sixteen  Cuts  and  Three   Half-Tones  Illustrating 
the  Article  on  Altars  and  Sacrifices  in  the 
Primitive  Art  of  Babylonia,  in   Appendix  G,  by 
the  Rev.  William  Hayes  Ward,  D.D.,  LL.  D.        -    267-276 


PREFACE 

Every  new  book  must  demonstrate  its  right  to  be. 
The  publisher  and  the  circle  of  readers  for  which  it  is 
designed  may  well  ask,  "Why  should  you  claim  our  atten- 
tion? What  are  you?  Do  you  give  any  new  or  important 
information?     Are  you  interesting?" 

These  are  all  legitimate  questions,  to  which  I  shall 
attempt  a  brief  answer.  In  the  preparation  of  the  fol- 
lowing pages,  I  have  not  thought  of  any  special  class  of 
readers  except  those  who  may  be  interested  in  the  study 
of  primitive  religious  customs.  Earnest  students  of  the 
Bible,  as  well  as  those  of  comparative  religion,  may  per- 
haps find  in  this  treatise  new  materials  for  thought  and 
investigation. 

My  chief  interest  in  the  subject  is  as  an  interpreter 
of  the  Old  Testament,  who  after  four  years  of  prepa- 
ration with  the  late  Professor  Franz  Delitzsch,  of 
the  University  of  Leipzig,  and  twenty  years  of  teaching 
and  lecturing  in  Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  at  last 
spent  fourteen  months  in  tours  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  Syria  and  Palestine,  not  to  speak  of  a 
visit  to  Egypt  and  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula.  In  that  period, 
largely  devoted  to  travel,  I  had  the  opportunity  to  see 
these  countries  as  perhaps  few  have  seen  them.  To  carry 
out  my  purpose  involved  anxieties,  struggles,  and  vic- 
tories, which  I  have  sketched  as  an  encouragement  to 
those  who  might  wish  to  engage  in  a  similar  undertak- 
ing. Aside  from  Chapters  II  and  III,  and  the  Itineraries 
contained  in  Appendix  B,  I  have  not  attempted  to  describe 
these  travels  in  detail. 

II 


12  PREFACE 

The    first    journeys,    including    my    sojourn    at    such 
centers  as  Beirut,   Jerusalem,  and   Damascus,  requiring 
more  than  a  twelvemonth,   were  supplemented    by  two 
others,  covering  fully  five  months,  in  the  summers  of  1900 
and  1 901.      The  last  two  were  conducted  in  the  interest 
of  a  particular  investigation,  namely,  to  discover  from 
personal  interviews  with  natives  in  different  parts  of  the 
country  who  had  not  come   in    contact  with    European 
civilization,  and   who   were    but    slightly    influenced    by 
Islam,  what  was    the   primitive   religion   of    the   ancient 
Semites;  for  it  is  not  to  the  Hebrews,  to  the  Assyrians, 
or  to  the  Babylonians  that  we  are  to  go  for  this  primitive 
picture.      They    have    indeed    retained    many    traces    of 
primitive  religious  customs,  but  these  have  been  modi- 
fied from  the  original  type  through  outside  influences. 
If    then,  we  wish  to  discover  the  ancestor  of    Semitic 
religions,  whose  lineaments  are  to  be  found  in  the  beliefs 
and  usages  of  Assyria,  Phoenicia,   and   Israel,  we  shall 
pursue  our  investigations  among  Syrians  and  Arabs,  who 
observe  the  same  religious  rites  as  did  their  progenitors 
from  the  earliest  dawn  of  history.     We  shall  find  among 
them  many  individual  examples  of  religious  customs,  of 
which  perhaps  only  one  or  two  may  be  seen  among  the 
Assyrians  and  the  Hebrews.     Thus,  through  many  illus- 
trations discovered  among  Syrians  and  Arabs,  a  religious 
custom  observed  among  the  Assyrians  or  Hebrews  which 
almost  escapes  our  attention,  or  which  we  might  suppose 
to  be  primitive  among  them,  comes  out  in  its  true  bear- 
ing as  something  which  they  have  inherited  from  a  pri- 
meval source. 

A  book  which  contains  many  examples  of  vows,  of 
blood-sprinkling,  of  sacrifice,  should  be  of  interest  to  all 
who  desire  to  know  what  was  the  foundation  on  which 
the  religion  of  other  ancient  Semitic  peoples  was  built. 


PREFACE  13 

It  may  seem  that  it  is  an  unwarrantable  assumption 
to  claim  that  among  such  modern  Semites  as  Arabs  and 
Syrians  we  have  the  sources  of  primitive  Semitic  reli- 
gion. But  to  my  mind,  this  assumption  becomes  an  indis- 
putable fact  when  we  once  recognize  the  power  of  custom 
in  the  East,  which  persists  throughout  the  millenniums 
without  change  when  untouched  by  outside  influences. 

The  basis  for  my  treatment  of  primitive  Semitic  reli- 
gion is  in  my  own  researches,  some  of  which,  considering 
their  number  and  significance,  may  have  the  value  of 
original  discoveries.  It  may  well  be  that  those  who  are 
familiar  with  the  literature  of  the  subject,  or  with  the 
countries  traversed,  may  recognize  isolated  facts  as 
already  known  to  them,  and  see  their  bearing  on  the 
discussion  after  a  large  number  of  examples  have  been 
presented,  and  so  be  tempted  to  claim  that  in  all  that 
follows  there  is  little  that  is  new.  But  from  my  knowl- 
edge of  the  literature,  and  as  the  result  of  interviews  with 
numerous  missionaries,  I  am  persuaded  that  there  are 
many  new  facts  which  have  enabled  me  to  put  the  sub- 
ject in  a  new  light.  While  I  refer  to  some  of  the  most 
important  works  bearing  on  this  discussion,  I  am  not 
dependent  upon  them,  but  have  relied  almost  altogether 
on  personal  investigation. 

It  has  been  my  effort  to  trace  the  characteristic  fea- 
tures of  the  primitive  religion  of  the  Semites:  their  con- 
ceptions of  the  being  who  has  for  them  the  value  of  God, 
their  ideas  of  sin ;  to  describe  their  places  of  worship, 
their  priesthood,  and  to  discuss  the  nature  as  well  as  the 
significance  of  their  sacrifices.  I  have  not  sought  to 
establish  any  theory,  only  to  give  the  facts,  so  far  as  I 
apprehend  them.  The  discussion  is  based  on  unpub- 
lished personal  journals  of  my  travels  and  observations, 
to  which  constant  reference  is  made  in  the  notes. 


14  PREFACE 

With  respect  to  my  position  as  an  Old  Testament 
interpreter,  I  see  in  the  Bible  a  record  of  many  divine 
revelations,  each  adapted  to  a  particular  age  and  con- 
dition of  God's  people,  beginning  with  a  disclosure  of 
himself,  made  with  infinite  condescension,  to  the  child- 
age  of  the  world,  hence  simple,  elementary,  and  pictorial. 
Forms  of  speech  and  modes  of  thought  belonging  to 
primitive  Semitism  have  been  adopted  as  a  medium  of 
communication,  without  which  the  Semites  could  not 
originally  have  understood  the  divine  message.  I  have 
given  a  few  illustrations  of  such  a  use  of  primitive 
Semitic  conceptions  and  modes  of  thought  as  are  found 
in  the  Scriptures. 

While  it  seems  to  me  that  we  find  abundant  evidences 
of  development  in  the  Old  Testament,  from  very  simple 
concrete  representations  of  God  to  those  which  are  pro- 
foundly spiritual,  I  am  not  able  to  account  for  this 
development  on  naturalistic  principles.  In  it  I  see  God 
at  all  times  and  everywhere  co-working  with  human 
instruments  until  the  fullness  of  the  time  should  come. 
The  messages  which  we  find  in  the  Old  Testament 
seem  all  the  more  divine  to  me  because  of  the  great  gulf 
which  is  fixed  between  primitive  Semitic  conceptions  of 
God,  and  the  noble,  spiritual  views  of  Him  set  forth 
under  divine  illumination  by  an  Isaiah.  The  great 
prophet  is  a  product  of  many  ages  of  divine  revelation 
and  teaching,  and  cannot  be  accounted  for  as  a  natural 
representative  of  his  age  and  people. 

In  my  investigations  I  have  been  indebted  to  many, 
especially  to  the  Rev.  J.  Stewart  Crawford,  of  the  Irish 
Presbyterian  Mission  in  Damascus  and  the  Syrian 
Desert — the  nature  of  this  indebtedness  I  shall  mention 
later.  At  my  earnest  solicitation  I  have  received  from 
the  Rev.  W.   Hayes  Ward,   LL.D.,  editor  of  The  Inde- 


PREFACE  15 

pendent,  a  valuable  paper  on  Altars  and  Sacrifices  in  the 
Primitive  Art  of  Babylonia,  with  many  illustrations,  the 
result  of  years  of  study,  which  I  have  added  as  Appen- 
dix G.  In  the  revision  of  my  manuscript,  I  have  enjoyed 
many  kindly  and  helpful  suggestions  from  my  colleague, 
the  Rev.  William  Douglas  Mackenzie,  D.D. ;  in  reading 
the  proof  I  have  had  the  valued  assistance  of  our  libra- 
rian, Mr.  Herbert  Wright  Gates.  No  attempt  has  been 
made  to  indicate  the  quantity  of  the  syllables  of  Arabic 
words,  or  the  mode  of  their  pronunciation.  Such  tran- 
scription is  difficult  on  account  of  the  many  ways  of  pro- 
nouncing Arabic  among  the  Arabs  themselves  and  the 
many  kinds  of  transliteration  employed  by  English  and 
German  scholars.  So  far  as  the  English  dictionary  affords 
a  standard  for  the  spelling  of  Arabic  names  it  has  been 
followed,  otherwise  essentially  the  transliteration  of 
Baedeker's  Syria  and  Palestine  has  been  adopted,  though 
with  some  modifications,  except  the  spelling  of  Arabic 
words  occurring  in  various  quotations,  which  has  not 
been  changed. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  photographs  were  taken 
at  my  suggestion,  by  my  companions  in  travel,  and  serve 
to  illustrate  the  special  themes  discussed. 


PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION 

TO-DAY 


CHAPTER   I 

INTRODUCTORY 

This  book  is  the  outgrowth  of  three  journeys  during 
the  years  1898-1901,  in  which  Syria  was  visited  three 
times,  Palestine  twice,  and  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula  once. 
It  was  on  my  first  journey  to  northern  Syria,  in  the 
autumn  of  1898,  that  my  attention  was  drawn  to  this 
subject.  During  a  tour  made  with  Rev.  F.  W.  March, 
and  Rev.  W.  S.  Nelson,  D.D.,  both  missionaries  of  the 
American  Presbyterian  Board,  a  sacred  grove  and  high 
place  were  recognized  at  Beinu.  In  the  further  course 
of  the  journey  to  Safita,  many  others  were  visited. 
Greeks,  Maronites,  Moslems  and  Nusairiyeh  were  inter- 
viewed as  to  the  use  of  the  shrines  found  in  connection 
with  the  groves,  the  missionaries  acting  as  interpreters. 

As  a  result  of  the  information  received  the  question 
at  once  arose  whether  there  was  in  these  shrines  a  sur- 
vival of  ancient  Semitic  worship.  The  elucidation  of 
this  question  gradually  opened  up  a  whole  vista  of 
usages,  antedating  the  Israelitish  codes  and  presupposed 
by  them. 

It  was  a  fascinating  investigation,  continued  for  three 
years  and  constantly  growing  in  interest  to  the  end  of 
my  journey  last  summer.  Hints  became  positive  infor- 
mation,  conjectures    developed    into    certainties,    facts, 

17 


1 8  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

obscurely  apprehended  at  first,  often  came  out  as  the 
result  of  many  interviews  with  natives  into  clearness. 
These  investigations  covered  the  whole  round  of  sacred 
places,  seasons,  persons,  and  rites. 

Important  information  had  been  expected  from  some 
of  the  missionaries  in  Syria  and  Palestine.  It  seemed  as 
if  they  must  know,  by  virtue  of  a  long  residence  in  the 
country  and  by  an  unconscious  absorption,  many  things 
that  ought  to  be  gathered  before  they  should  pass  away. 
And  yet  I  had  been  warned  by  one  of  the  most  eminent 
authorities  on  manners  and  customs.  Rev.  George  E. 
Post,  M.D.,  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  in  Beirut, 
that  not  much  new  material  could  be  expected  from  this 
source.  Such  has  largely  proved  to  be  the  case.  Mis- 
sionaries are  so  fully  occupied  with  their  pressing  duties 
that  they  cannot  easily  turn  aside  to  get  information 
which  would  be  within  their  reach  if  they  were  prepared 
to  conduct  researches,  which  would  reveal  the  primitive 
beliefs  of  the  people.  In  general,  such  an  investigation 
was  characterized  by  Dr.  Post  as  likely  to  be  almost 
fruitless,  since  every  essential  fact  that  could  be  gathered 
was  already  in  print.  All  that  could  be  looked  for  would 
simply  be  a  restatement  of  these  old  facts  in  a  new  dress. 
A  careful  examination  of  the  literature  of  the  subject,  and 
various  contributions  solicited  from  those  who  had  been 
long  in  the  country,  appeared  to  confirm  this  view.' 
Nevertheless,  it  seemed  that  if  no  new  facts  about  ancient 
religious  customs  were  to  be  discovered,  those  already 
published  would  possess  a  new  value  if  grouped  and  dis- 
cussed   by   an    Old    Testament   interpreter.      It   will   be 

Un  all  I  sent  outseveral  hundred  circulars,  from  London  in 
the  autumn  of  1900,  and  again  from  Beirut  in  the  summer  of 
1901,  with  respect  to  the  manners,  customs,  and  religious  usages  of 
Syrians  and  Bedouin.  Very  few  replies  were  received.  For  the 
second  set  of  questions  see  Appendix  A. 


INTRODUCTORY  I9 

found,  however,  as  the  result  of  my  researches,  that  a 
mass  of  new  material  has  been  unearthed,  and  that  some 
institutions  are  proved  to  exist,  the  presence  of  which 
had  not  been  described  by  any  previous  traveler,  or  even 
by  missionaries  who  had  resided  for  years  in  the  country. 
I  have  not  merely  recorded  the  facts  which  came  to  me — 
I  have  been  on  the  lookout  for  them. 

It  might  be  natural  to  suppose  that  the  orthodoxy  of 
Islam  as  well  as  that  of  ancient  Christianity  must  have 
had  power  to  suppress  such  usages  of  ancient  Semitism 
as  were  clearly  contrary  to  them.  Reasoning  on  this 
basis,  a  well-known  physician  in  Jerusalem  declined  to 
analyze  a  substance  from  a  Moslem  shrine  that  looked 
like  blood.  The  assurance  of  eminent  Moslems  in  Jeru- 
salem, that  the  use  of  blood  would  be  impossible  in  con- 
nection with  any  Moslem  shrine,  was  assigned  by  him  as 
a  sufificient  reason  for  not  making  what  he  deemed  a  use- 
less investigation.  The  following  pages  will  show  the 
real  state  of  the  case. 

Heretofore  there  has  been  much  difificulty  in  gaining 
information  on  such  points.  Some  of  the  most  learned 
scholars  in  Great  Britain,  for  example,  working  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  had  pre- 
pared six  pamphlets,  of  about  forty-five  pages  each,' 
containing  an  elaborate  series  of  questions  regarding  the 
manners,  customs,  and  religious  practices  of  various 
sects  and  classes  of  people.  But  aside  from  articles  by 
Mr.  Philip  Baldensperger  in  The  Quarterly  Statement,^ 

'The  titles  of  those  at  hand  are  as  follows:  Questions  on  the 
Bedawin;  Questions  on  the  Fellahin;  Questions  on  the  Ismailiyeh 
and  Anseiriyeh;  Questions  on  the  Yezids. 

^Peasant  Folklore  of  Palestine,  1893,  pp.  203-219;  Religion  of 
the  Fellahin  of  Palestine,  ibid.,  pp.  307-320;  Orders  of  Holy  Men 
in  Palestine,  1894,  pp.  22-38;  Morals  of  the  Fellahin,  1897,  pp. 
123-134;  Woman  in  the  East,  1899,  pp.  132-160. 


20  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

there  has  been  very  little  response  to  these  inquiries. 
Each  one  who  had  made  an  investigation  seemed  like  the 
man  with  the  one  talent,  ready  to  hide  it  in  a  napkin.  Then 
there  was  the  difficulty  of  securing  trustworthy  informa- 
tion, for  in  the  kindness  of  his  heart  the  Oriental  is  often 
ready  to  give  the  traveler  just  the  knowledge  he  desires, 
while  intelligent  natives  have  looked  upon  such  investi- 
gations as  "unworthy  of  a  serious-minded  man." 

I  believe  I  have  been  able  to  overcome  most  of  these 
difficulties.  My  method  was  to  avoid  asking  leading 
questions,  and  to  pursue  my  inquiries  in  such  a  way  as 
to  get  the  exact  facts  in  a  given  inquiry.  I  was 
able  to  have  interviews  with  large  numbers  of  persons 
widely  distant  from  each  other.  The  frankness  with 
which  natives  answered  my  interrogatories  was  a  delight- 
ful surprise.  Undoubtedly  the  openness  of  the  replies 
was  often  due  to  the  confidence  which  the  natives  felt  in 
my  companions,  the  missionaries  and  their  helpers. 
Information  partially  gained  at  one  point  was  supple- 
mented and  made  clear  by  further  interviews  in  other 
parts  of  the  country. 

While  Burckhardt,  in  his  travels  among  the  Arabs, 
found  it  impracticable  to  write  any  notes  in  their  pres- 
ence, because  those  who  have  had  but  little  contact  with 
civilization  fear  writing  as  if  it  were  a  black  art,  in  every 
interview,  thus  far,  I  have  been  able  to  take  down  infor- 
mation from  the  lips  of  the  interpreter.^  In  this  way  a 
mass  of  material  has  been  gathered  about  the  ancient 
religious  customs  of  the  people,  such  as  has  never  been 
published  before.  For  help  in  getting  this  information, 
I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  A.  Forder,  of  Jerusalem,  mission- 

1  The  Arabs  at  one  of  the  encampments  in  the  South  Country 
[Negeb),  when  they  saw  me  taking  notes,  said :  "  He  is  writing  down 
our  names  so  as  to  report  to  the  Sultan  at  Stambul  (Constantmo- 
ple)  whether  or  not  he  has  been  well  treated." 


INTRODUCTORY  2  1 

ary  among  the  Arabs,  with  whom  I  traveled  during  the 
summer  of  1900,  and  pre-eminently  to  the  Rev.  J.  Stewart 
Crawford,  of  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Mission,  Damascus, 
who  was  born  in  Syria,  who  speaks  Arabic  like  a  native, 
who  entered  into  every  investigation  with  the  keenest 
interest,  and  who,  in  addition  to  a  brief  tour  in  the 
Syrian  Desert  in  the  autumn  of  1898,  was,  during  the 
summer  of  1901,  an  almost  constant  companion  and 
interpreter. 

Although  much  valuable  material  is  scattered  through 
the  volumes  of  travelers,  especially  of  Burckhardt 
and  Doughty,  and  through  the  learned  monographs 
of  Trumbull,  I  am  not  aware  of  any  systematic  attempt 
to  gain  information  regarding  ancient  religious  usages 
from  Syrians  and  Arabs  to-day.  W.  Robertson  Smith, 
in  his  Religion  of  the  Semites,  has  drawn  on  Arabic  litera- 
ture for  a  masterly  treatise,  but  the  field  of  special 
investigation  into  the  primitive  religious  customs  of 
modern  Semites,  which  this  volume  enters,  is  entirely 
new.  May  it  prove  of  service  to  students  of  the  Old 
Testament,  as  well  as  to  those  of  Comparative  Religion, 


CHAPTER   II 

SKETCH   OF   PRELIMINARY   TRAVELS 
1898-1899 

When  I  sailed  from  New  York  for  Naples,  the  21st 
of  May,  1898,  on  the  steamship  Aller,  of  the  North 
German  Lloyd,  I  could  not  forecast  what  would  be  the 
final  outcome  of  my  studies  and  investigations.  I  knew 
it  would  not  be  easy  for  a  private  individual,  with  no 
society  behind  him,  to  open  up  a  new  field  of  research, 
owing  to  the  great  contributions  which  have  been  made 
to  the  knowledge  of  Palestinian  geography  by  the  Pales- 
tine Exploration  Fund.  I  did  not  feel  disposed  to  add 
another  book  to  the  delineation  of  a  country  which  had 
been  so  often  described  by  so  many  competent  travelers. 

But  for  many  years  I  had  desired  to  visit  Palestine. 
This  was  the  goal  of  my  expectations  when  I  first  set 
sail  from  New  York,  in  May,  1872,  with  the  hope  of 
devoting  a  considerable  period  to  study  and  travel.  The 
realization  of  this  hope  seemed  near  when,  in  the  winter 
of  1877,  the  late  Professor  Philip  Schaff,  LL. D.,  of  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  New  York,  kindly  invited  me  to 
join  his  party  for  a  tour  in  Palestine  and  the  Sinaitic 
Peninsula.  Much  as  I  desired  to  accept  his  invitation,  I 
was  dissuaded  from  undertaking  a  journey  at  that  time 
by  Professor  Franz  Delitzsch,  of  the  University  of  Leip- 
zig, who  with  fatherly  kindness  had  supervised  my  Se- 
mitic studies  for  three  years.  As  I  was  then  engaged  in 
translating  Bickell's  Outlines  of  Hebrew  Grammar,  it  did 
not  seem  wise  to  him  that  I  should  undertake  the  jour- 
ney at  that  time. 

22 


SKETCH  OF  PRELIMINARY  TRAVELS      23 

Later  I  entertained  the  hope  of  spending  one  or  more 
summers  in  Lebanon,  but  became  so  involved  in  various 
forms  of  work  in  Chicago  that  it  proved  impossible,  as 
I  thought,  to  visit  the  land  toward  which  my  heart  had 
repeatedly  turned. 

It  was  not  until  I  had  served  as  Professor  of  Old 
Testament  Literature  and  Interpretation  in  the  Chicago 
Theological  Seminary  for  twenty  years  that  the  oppor- 
tunity came,  through  the  great  kindness  of  the  directors 
of  the  seminary,  for  a  leave  of  absence,  which  was  to 
extend  over  sixteen  months. 

While  planning  for  this  journey,  I  entertained  the 
view  held  by  most  travelers  in  Syria  and  Palestine,  so  far 
as  I  am  aware,  which  is  emphasized  in  their  travels  and 
in  guide-books,  that  there  are  only  about  three  months 
each  year  suitable  for  traveling  in  these  countries,  owing 
to  the  excessive  heat  of  summer,  and  the  consequent 
danger  of  Syrian  fever  and  to  the  rains  falling  at  inter- 
vals between  the  middle  of  November  and  the  beginning 
of  April.  Not  contemplating  any  other  seasons  for  travel 
than  those  laid  down  in  the  guide-books,  and  desiring  to 
make  the  most  careful  and  effective  preparation  possible 
for  my  journey,  I  debated  with  friends  and  myself 
whether  I  should  spend  the  months  preceding  the  autumn 
in  preliminary  study  at  the  British  Museum,  and  under 
the  advice  of  the  officers  of  the  Palestine  Exploration 
Fund,  or  whether  I  should  spend  the  time  at  Berlin,  or 
should  proceed  at  once  to  Beirut  and  avail  myself  of  the 
admirable  facilities  to  be  found  in  the  library  of  the 
Syrian  Protestant  College.  I  therefore  addressed  a 
letter  of  inquiry  to  the  Rev.  Daniel  F.  Bliss,  D.D.,  presi- 
dent of  that  college,  from  whom  in  due  time  I  received  a 
type-written  list  of  many  excellent  books  on  the  coun- 
tries I  was  to  visit,  and  a  very  cordial  invitation  to  pur- 


24  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

sue  my  studies  at  the  college.  This  letter  was  decisive. 
I  determined  to  journey  at  once  to  Beirut.  My  voyage 
was  accomplished  in  nineteen  days  from  New  York,  by 
the  way  of  Gibralter,  Naples,  and  Port  Said,  on  three 
different  lines  of  steamers.  I  arrived  in  Beirut  the 
9th  of  June,  where  through  the  great  kindness  of  Presi- 
dent Bliss,  I  was  soon  established  in  one  of  the  rooms 
in  the  main  college  building  overlooking  the  Lebanon 
and  St.  George's  Bay.  I  at  once  began  the  study  of 
modern  Arabic,  and  made  such  use  of  the  library  as  I 
could. 

The  charm  of  the  changing  colors  which  rested  on  the 
bay,  sometimes  becoming  deep  as  indigo,  and  rivaling  the 
beauty  of  the  Bay  of  Naples,  the  soft  light  which  fell  on 
the  mountain  sides,  bringing  out  every  configuration  in 
the  landscape  and  shedding  a  glory  upon  it,  baffle  my 
powers  of  description.  For  five  weeks  my  eyes  rested  on 
these  scenes,  and  on  such  peculiarities  of  Oriental  life  as 
may  still  be  observed  in  the  most  European  city  of  Syria, 
only  to  be  fascinated  by  them.  I  think  I  felt  something 
of  the  saying  attributed  to  Mohammed,  when  he  is  said 
to  have  withheld  his  foot  from  entering  Damascus,  lest  he 
should  not  afterwards  desire  the  joys  of  paradise.  I  am 
well  aware  that  many  a  traveler  is  grievously  disap- 
pointed in  Syria  and  Palestine;  the  filth  and  the  squalor 
are  so  present  to  the  senses  that  he  can  neither  see  nor 
feel  the  beauty  that  surrounds  him. 

My  surprise  was  great  when  I  learned  that  instead  of 
traveling  in  Syria  and  Palestine  for  only  about  three 
months,  there  would  be  no  very  serious  barrier  to  con- 
tinuing my  journeys  almost  throughout  the  year.  I  had 
provided  the  means  for  three  months  of  travel  and  for 
nine  months  of  study,  how  then  could  I  find  the  resources 
involved    in   this  change   of    plans  without   incurring   a 


SKETCH  OF  PRELIMINARY  TRAVELS      2  5 

burdensome  debt?  It  seemed  certain  that  if  I  would  find 
a  more  economical  way  of  traveling  than  that  pursued  by 
the  ordinary  tourist,  I  must  become  able  to  communicate 
with  natives  and  muleteers  so  as  to  dispense  with  the 
services  of  a  dragoman,  and  that  besides  I  must  try,  if 
possible,  to  make  some  money  in  a  literary  way. 

I  had  studied  classical  Arabic  in  Leipzig.  Indeed  I 
passed  an  examination  on  it  as  a  minor,  when  I  was  a 
candidate  for  the  degree  of  doctor  of  philosophy.  But 
it  was  evident  that  I  could  not  undertake  a  journey  in 
the  country  five  weeks  after  entering  it  with  such  slight 
knowledge  as  I  had,  and  where  at  every  step  I  was  liable 
to  be  imposed  on.  I  therefore  labored  in  vain  for  some 
time  to  secure  the  services  of  a  student  as  dragoman  for 
a  tour  of  three  months.  His  demands  were  quite  beyond 
my  means.  But  through  the  kindly  interest  of  Professor 
Robert  H.  West;  the  Rev.  George  C.  Doolittle,  of  Der 
el-Kamar;  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Nelson,  D. D.,  of  Tripoli; 
the  Rev.  William  Jessup,  of  Zahleh;  the  Rev.  W.  K. 
Eddy,  of  Sidon;  the  Rev.  Henry  H.  Jessup,  D.D.,  of 
Beirut;  and  of  Professor  George  Post,  M.D.,  doors  that 
had  seemed  closed,  opened,  and  insuperable  difficulties 
vanished.  The  first  gentleman  named  was  my  trusted 
counselor,  and  lent  me  his  Damascus  tent,  Mr.  William 
Jessup  hired  my  muleteers.  Dr.  Jessup  and  Dr.  Post  pre- 
pared an  itinerary  for  a  journey  to  Baalbek  and  in  the 
Lebanon,  and  the  other  gentlemen  were  companions  in 
travel,  offering  me  missionary  fare  and  their  unexcelled 
knowledge  of  the  country  at  a  minimum.  I  shall  never 
cease  to  be  grateful  to  them,  nor  to  the  missionaries  all 
through  Syria,  Palestine,  and  Egypt,  who  refreshed  me 
by  their  counsel  and  sympathy,  and  who  in  no  small 
degree  contributed  to  the  success  of  my  journeys. 

I    can    merely   allude    to    these,    for    I    could    easily 


26  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

fill  more  than  one  volume  with  incidents  of  travel  in 
uncommon  sections  of  country  seen  in  an  uncommon 
way. 

My  first  journey  to  Baalbek  and  the  Cedars  from  the 
home  of  Mr.  William  Jessup  at  Zahleh,  began  July  19, 
1898,  and  lasted  eighteen  days.  Anis  Masud,  a  member 
of  the  senior  class,  was  my  dragoman  and  Jirjis,  of  the 
culinary  department  in  the  college,  was  cook.  I  had  the 
loan  of  two  tents  and  had  two  muleteers.  I  traveled  in 
great  comfort  at  an  expense  of  about  five  dollars  a  day. 
I  do  not  know  of  a  more  delightful  and  inspiring  journey 
in  the  East  than  one  beginning  at  Baalbek.  There  is  an 
indescribable  glamor  about  the  ruins,  rising  fairy-like  in 
their  beauty,  near  the  Litani,  and  having  the  highest  of 
the  white-capped  mountains  of  Lebanon  as  their  distant 
background.  I  cannot  even  enumerate  the  attractions 
of  such  a  journey.  It  is  one  delightful  memory,  full  of 
novel  adventure,  and  the  enjoyment  of  grand  and  beauti- 
ful scenery.  From  beginning  to  end  it  was  romantic, 
refreshing,  and  inspiring. 

Then  came  a  rest  for  a  week  at  Brummana,  the  seat 
of  the  Friends'  Mission.  It  is  about  two  hours  and  a  half 
from  Beirut  by  carriage.  The  view  of  that  city  and  of 
the  Bay  of  St.  George  is  wonderful.  There  I  attended 
the  first  general  conference  held  by  missionaries  of  Syria 
and  Palestine,  and  was  greatly  instructed  by  many 
admirable  papers. 

During  the  latter  part  of  August  and  until  about  the 
end  of  October  I  joined  various  missionaries,  already 
named,  in  their  tours  of  travel.  Who  that  has  seen  Der 
el-Kamar  and  the  surrounding  country  will  think  I  ex- 
aggerate when  I  write  of  the  joy  I  experienced  in  the  com- 
pany of  Mr.  George  C.  Doolittle,  now  of  Zahleh,  who 
then  had  his  home  in  this  gem  of  the  Lebanon,  with 


SKETCH  OF  PRELIMINARY  TRAVELS      2/ 

whom  I  went  on  one  of  his  missionary  tours  to  a  neigh- 
boring village? 

This  was  preliminary  to  my  joining  Mr.  W.  K.  Eddy, 
for  the  ascent  of  Mount  Hermon.  Attended  part  of  the 
way  to  Jezzin  by  a  native,  I  rode  over  the  remainder  of 
it  quite  alone.  Accompanied  by  three  of  Mr.  Eddy's 
children,  we  traveled  over  the  road  to  the  mission  station 
at  Jedaideh,  whence  we  could  see  the  surrounding  coun- 
try. How  grand  was  Mount  Hermon !  How  soft  and 
lovely  the  afternoon  light  which  rested  like  a  halo  on  the 
hills  of  Naphtali!  How  enticing  the  blue  waters  and 
malarial  marshes  of  Huleh — when  seen  from  afar!  How 
varied  and  interesting  the  ascent  of  the  mountain,  under 
the  guidance  of  one  who  had  made  it  twelve  times  before; 
who  knew  and  could  explain  so  many  points  of  interest; 
who  could  tell  of  exposure  to  death,  when  for  thirty 
hours  on  that  lonely  height  with  a  faithful  companion, 
almost  without  food  and  drink,  he  had  sunk  down  in 
exhaustion;  who  could  speak  of  perils  of  robbers,  and 
adventures  with  bears! 

It  was  a  grand  view  that  greeted  our  eyes  from  the 
summit  of  Hermon;  a  wide  prospect  reaching  faraway 
and  revealing  the  anatomy  of  the  country  in  the  clear 
light  of  the  afternoon.  A  little  before  sunset  there  was 
the  shadow  of  the  mountain  rising  higher  and  higher 
above  the  eastern  horizon,  and  the  illusion  of  a  polar  sea 
on  the  western.  After  my  return  to  Jedaideh,  I  visited 
all  the  sources  of  the  Jordan. 

But  I  did  not  find  my  vocation  as  a  traveler  until  I 
began  my  journey  in  northern  Syria  with  Messrs.  March 
and  Nelson,  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission,  the 
nth  of  September,  of  the  same  year.  It  was  in  that 
northern  country,  once  the  stronghold  of  the  ancient 
Canaanites,  and  now,  as  there  is  reason  to  think,  inhab- 


28  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

ited  by  their  descendants,  that  I  recognized  the  sacred 
groves  and  high  places  for  the  first  time.  These  had 
been  seen  and  described  by  missionaries,  but  I  do  not 
know  of  any  one  who  had  previously  made  an  investiga- 
tion of  the  facts  connected  with  them.  My  former  class- 
mate, the  Rev.  F.  W.  March,  was  a  constant  and  faithful 
interpreter.  Visiting  many  shrines  on  the  way  from 
Beinu  to  Safita,  we  heard  substantially  the  same  story  at 
each,  as  to  the  vows  made,  the  sacrifices  paid,  and  the 
feasting  which  followed.  We  had  also  interviews  with 
Protestant  congregations,  who  had  much  to  tell.  The 
recognition  of  these  groves,  and  the  researches  which  I 
at  once  instituted  with  respect  to  them,  gave  me  an  aim 
which  I  have  followed  with  increasing  interest  to  the 
present  time.  I  have  already  alluded  to  W.  Robertson 
Smith's  Religion  of  the  Semites.  It  seemed  to  me  that 
studies  and  investigations  which  had  been  made  mostly 
in  the  domain  of  Semitic  literature  could  also  be  profit- 
ably pursued  into  the  life  of  the  people.  Indeed  I  could 
not  resist  the  conjecture  that  ancient  institutions  had 
been  transmitted  from  the  remotest  past  to  the  present 
day. 

The  information  which  I  received  on  this  journey  with 
these  missionaries  was  supplemented  and  the  inspiration 
was  augmented  by  the  next  tour  which  I  nlade  in  the 
Syrian  Desert,  with  the  Rev.  J.  Stewart  Crawford,  of  the 
Irish  Presbyterian  Mission,  who  resides  at  Nebk.  If  I 
could  have  spent  all  of  my  time  with  such  companions, 
and  have  followed  the  method  which  I  adopted  in  the 
summer  of  1901,  the  results  would  have  been  much 
greater.  But  I  was  still  like  one  groping  in  the  dark.  I 
did  not  yet  know  the  field,  nor  how  to  conduct  my  investi- 
gations, nor  could  I  find  one  capable  of  aiding  me.  Both 
my  helper  and  myself  needed  time  for  study,  and  a  much 


SKETCH  OF  PRELIMINARY  TRAVELS      29 

wider  experience.     However,  as  a  Bible  interpreter,  with- 
out any  hope  or  expectation  of  authorship,  but  desiring 
that   I   might  be  a  more  useful   teacher  of  students,   I 
sought  to  see  the  land  thoroughly,  from  the  entering  in 
of  Hamath  to  the  South  Country  {Negeb)  and  the  Sinaitic 
Peninsula.      The  question  of  ways  and  means  was  still  a 
perplexing  one,  though  the  directors  of  the  seminary  had 
made  liberal  provision  for  me.      But  it  became  necessary 
to  earn  as  well  as  to  save  money.     With  the  hope  of 
increasing  resources,  I  visited  Jerusalem  when  the  Ger- 
man emperor  was  there  at  the  dedication  of  the  Church 
of  the  Redemption,  and  wrote  a  description  of  his  visit, 
which  was  published  in  one  of  the  magazines.     With  the 
hope   of  saving   money   I   went   to    Damascus,    where   I 
engaged  in  the  study  of  colloquial  Arabic,  that  I  might 
get  on  without  the  services  of  a  dragoman.      While  there 
I  experienced  great  kindness  from  the  veteran  mission- 
ary, the  Rev.   John  Crawford,   D.D.,   and  from   others. 
I  had  my  home  in  two  small  chambers  on  a  Syrian  house- 
top.     It  was  a  unique  experience.      Dimitri,  one  of  the 
native  teachers  of  the  Irish   Presbyterian   Mission,  gave 
me  two  lessons  a  day  during  December  and  January,  one 
at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  other  at  eight  o'clock 
in    the    evening.      Life    under    such    circumstances    was 
novel  and  full  of  variety.      Damascus  is  the  most  inter- 
esting Oriental  city  I  have  seen,  surpassing  Cairo  in  its 
presentation   of   various   forms   of   Oriental    life.      None 
could  have  been  kinder  than  my  Syrian  hostess,  nor  could 
I  have   found  a  more  willing  maid   than  her  daughter. 
The  absence  of  sons  and  brothers  in  a  foreign  land  warmed 
their  hearts  toward  a  stranger.      They  were  applying  the 
principle  of  the  Golden   Rule,  which   in  their  minds  ran 
something  like  this:  "As  we  would  that  strangers  should 
do  to  our  sons  and  brothers,  so  we  do  to  you."     At  the 


30  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

same  time  there  was  a  suggestion  of  the  ancient  homage 
which  woman  pays  to  man  in  the  East,  which  Sarah 
exhibited  when  she  called  Abraham  lord. 

These  two  months  were  a  most  profitable,  most  enjoy- 
able season,  in  which  I  was  practising  Arabic,  reading 
books  from  the  college  library,  and  was  frequently 
cheered  by  the  sympathy  and  kindness  of  the  mission- 
aries. I  often  gazed  with  joy  at  Hermon,  completely 
enveloped  in  snow,  white  and  glistering  in  the  sunlight. 
My  last  visit  to  Jebel  Kasiun,  one  hour  west  of  Damas- 
cus, whither  I  went  to  bid  adieu  to  Anti-Lebanon  and 
Hermon  and  all  of  the  plain  of  Damascus,  might  have 
had  serious  consequences,  for  I  was  surrounded  by  five  or 
six  robbers.  Previously  instructed  by  Mr.  Crawford 
concerning  the  law  of  blood  revenge,  which  prevails 
among  Orientals  at  the  present  day,  I  did  not  attempt  to 
defend  myself  with  a  revolver.  Barring  a  trifling  loss 
of  money  and  valuables,  I  suffered  no  serious  injury. 

On  the  6th  of  February,  1899,  I  left  Beirut  for  Egypt 
and  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula.  At  Cairo  I  experienced 
much  kindness  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Watson,  of  the  Ameri- 
can Mission,  and  at  Luxor  -from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Murch.  I 
continued  my  journey  to  Assuan  at  the  first  cataract. 
The  journey  to  Mount  Sinai,  which  I  undertook  after  my 
return  to  Cairo,  was  in  every  way  successful.  I  enjoyed 
it  to  the  full,  and  was  able  to  make  the  ascent  of  Jebel 
Katherin  and  of  Jebel  Musa;  and  from  Ras  Sufsaf  to 
look  out  on  the  great  plain  Er-Raha.  I  spent  two  and  a 
half  days  in  camp  near  the  monastery  of  St.  Catharine. 
It  was  on  this  journey  that  I  first  discovered  there  were 
annual  festivals  in  connection  with  certain  shrines.  It 
was  a  strange  contrast  to  former  experiences  in  the  life 
of  the  desert,  after  meeting  many  an  Arab  in  a  soiled 
shirt  and  with  an  abba  of  rusty  black,  to  see  one  morning 


SKETCH  OF  PRELIMINARY  TRAVELS      3 1 

men  and  women  clad  in  clean,  white  undergarments  with 
abbas  of  fresh  black,  looking  as  if  they  had  been  at  some 
festival.  I  found  they  had  been  in  attendance  on  an 
annual  feast  of  one  of  their  saints. 

On  my  return  journey  I  reached  Beirut  the  last  of 
March,  where  I  was  delayed  for  a  week,  as  the  rainy 
season  was  not  yet  over,  and  was  delightfully  entertained 
at  the  home  of  my  friends.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Graham.  The 
rain  ceased  on  the  5th  of  April  so  that  I  could  go  to 
Sidon,  to  the  house  of  my  friend,  the  Rev.  W.  K.  Eddy, 
who  had  promised  to  prepare  me  for  my  tours  in  Pales- 
tine, which  were  to  continue  until  the  middle  of  August. 
I  had  secured  Peter  {Buirus),  of  Safita,  in  northern  Syria, 
who  had  been  trained  in  the  Protestant  school,  as  cook 
and  muleteer.  In  the  autumn  of  1898,  during  my  jour- 
ney in  northern  Syria,  and  again  in  the  Syrian  desert,  he 
had  been  of  my  company,  so  we  were  in  no  sense  stran- 
gers. I  owed  much  in  the  journeys  that  followed  to  his 
good  sense,  his  coolness,  and  fearlessness  in  danger.  I 
do  not  refer  to  those  mock  attacks  which  dragomen  some- 
times institute  in  collusion  with  Arabs  for  the  diversion 
of  tourists,  that  they  may  have  something  to  tell,  but  to 
those  perils  which  become  dangers  in  lawless  countries, 
if  not  promptly  and  resolutely  met.  He  never  failed  me, 
when  others  were  on  the  point  of  open  rebellion,  or  even 
deserted  me,  and  was  always  faithful  to  my  interests,  and 
sought  to  promote  the  economies  that  I  found  necessary. 

The  first  two  days  out,  I  tried  a  camel  for  the  trans- 
portation of  my  baggage,  but  found  him  too  slow  and 
uncertain.  Shut  off  from  speaking  my  own  tongue,  and 
entirely  dependent  upon  the  natives  for  social  inter- 
course, with  but  a  very  imperfect  knowledge  of  Arabic, 
I  found  the  first  two  days  out  quite  disappointing,  and 
began  to  count  up  the  time  I  must  practise  endurance. 


32  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

But  the  spirit  of  travel  soon  possessed  me,  the  charm  of 
the  scenery  prevailed,  the  love  of  adventure,  the  joy 
of  receiving  light  on  the  Bible  so  inspired  me  that  every 
day  became  a  satisfaction,  and  I  could  have  gone  on 
alone  to  the  end.  But  friends  suggested  there  were  loss 
and  danger  involved  in  travel  where  I  was  cut  off  from 
English-speaking  companionship.  What  if  I  should  fall 
ill?  Who,  then,  would  minister  to  my  needs?  After  five 
weeks  of  touring,  in  which  I  had  visited  many  important 
points  between  Sidon  and  Jerusalem,  by  a  series  of  zig- 
zags, I  reached  the  Holy  City,  where  I  made  arrange- 
ments with  Professor  Gilroy,  of  the  Semitic  department 
of  the  University  of  Aberdeen,  Scotland,  to  make  the 
rest  of  our  journeys  together.  While  this  arrangement 
was  pleasant,  it  necessitated  the  employment  of  another 
muleteer,  at  the  scale  of  prices  current  in  Jerusalem,  and 
created  considerable  dissatisfaction  among  the  men  I  had 
hired  in  Syria  at  a  cheaper  wage.  My  expenses  had 
been  three  dollars  and  sixty  cents  a  day,  after  this  they 
averaged  four  dollars  apiece,  including  such  difficult 
journeys  as  those  to  Beersheba,  Kerak,  and  the  Hauran, 
an  amount  which  was  not  excessive. 

I  had  carried  out  all  these  journeys  without  malaria 
and  without  the  loss  of  a  single  day  through  illness, 
except  a  slight  indisposition  in  Jerusalem,  at  the  end  of 
my  tours,  which  hindered  me  from  a  visit  to  Mar  Saba 
and  the  cave  of  Adullam.  In  the  months  reviewed  I  had 
visited  the  most  important  places  from  Hamath  to  Beer- 
sheba on  the  west  side  of  the  Jordan,  and  from  Karyaten 
in  the  Syrian  desert  on  the  east,  to  Kerak  on  the  south; 
had  passed  up  the  sea  coast  from  Beirut  to  Tripoli,  and 
in  the  opposite  direction  to  Haifa;  and  from  Carmel  to 
Jaffa,  had  seen  Gaza  and  all  the  cities  of  the  Philistine 
Plain,  including  a  visit  of  two  days  with  Dr.  Fred  Bliss 


SKETCH    OF    PRELIMINARY   TRAVELS  33 

at  Tell  es-Safi,  who  afterwards  showed  me  the  line  of  his 
excavations  in  Jerusalem.  I  had  scaled  the  most  impor- 
tant mountains,  such  as  Jebel  Mahmal,  Sunnin,  Keneiseh, 
Hermon,  Jermak;  the  hills  back  of  Nazareth,  Carmel, 
Tabor,  Little  Hermon,  Osha,  Jebel  Neba,  and  Shihan. 
I  had  traversed  the  most  important  rivers,  from  the 
Orontes  down  ;  had  visited  most  of  their  principal  sources ; 
had  seen  the  lakes,  from  Kadesh  near  Homs,  and  Lake 
Yammuneh  in  Lebanon,  to  Huleh,  Galilee,  and  the  Dead 
Sea,  all,  through  God's  goodness,  without  serious  acci- 
dent or  mishap,  thus  adding  greatly  to  my  knowledge  and 
appreciation  of  the  Old  Testament.  However,  the  best 
results  of  travel  were  still  to  come.  A  list  of  tours  will 
be  found  in  Appendix  B. 


CHAPTER   III 

SPECIAL   RESEARCHES 
Summers  of  1900  and  igoi 

For  years  I  had  been  impressed  with  the  importance 
of  realism  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Old  Testament — of 
being  able  to  reproduce  the  life  of  the  people  as  it  was 
when  lawgivers  rendered  their  decisions,  when  prophets 
preached,  when  psalmists  sang,  and  wise  men  uttered 
proverbs.  It  was  in  the  hope  that  I  could  enter  more 
truly  into  the  flesh  and  blood  of  the  Old  Testament  that 
I  planned  the  second  journey  for  the  summer  of  1900. 
It  seemed  to  me,  as  I  have  already  indicated,  that  treas- 
ures of  knowledge  were  possessed  on  the  subject  of  man- 
ners and  customs  by  missionaries  which  must  pass  away 
with  the  passing  of  those  missionaries  who  had  been 
longest  in  the  country.  But  how  to  get  that  after  which 
I  was  groping  I  could  hardly  tell ;  where  to  go  and  what 
to  do,  what  companions  I  should  choose  was  not  clear. 

I  had  completed  my  travels  the  year  before  with  two 
regrets.  One  was  that  on  account  of  the  great  expense 
of  the  journey,  as  I  could  not  secure  a  companion,  it  had 
been  impossible  to  visit  Gadis,'  as  it  is  known  among  the 
natives,  though  commonly  called  Ain  Kadis,  in  the  works 
on  geography — the    Kadesh    Barnea    of    Trumbull^   and 

'Gadis  is  the  pronunciation  indicated  by  the  natives.  In  vain 
we  inquired  for  'Ain  Kadis;  finally  Gadis  was  suggested.  As  is 
well  known  by  Arabic  scholars,  the  Egyptians  and  some  Bedouin 
tribes  pronounce  kaf  like  a  hard  g.  This  is  the  pronunciation 
recorded  by  Professor  Palmer,  The  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  New 
York,  1872,  pp.  282-287,  though  he  uses  the  term  'Ain  Gadis.  The 
Arabs  with  whom  we  conversed  spoke  simply  of  Gadis. 

^Kadesh-Barnea,  New  York,  1884. 

34 


SPECIAL    RESEARCHES  35 

Others.  The  few  who  have  visited  this  place  have  jour- 
neyed by  the  way  of  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula  and  Nakhl.' 
They  have  found  it  difficult  of  approach  and  have  been 
compelled  to  pay  heavy  blackmail  by  the  Arabs. ^  The 
other  regret  was  that  I  had  been  foiled  in  my  attempt  to 
visit  the  Druse  Mountains.^ 

Reaching  Jerusalem  the  15th  of  June,  1900,  I  found 
Mr.  A.  Forder,  missionary  among  the  Arabs,  ready  to 
accompany  me.  He  had  lived  in  Kerak  as  the  head  of 
an  independent  English  mission  more  than  five  years. 
He  had  traveled  repeatedly  and  successfully  in  various 
parts  of  Syria  and  Palestine,  especially  over  the  more 
difficult  routes.  He  has  quite  recently  made  an  extensive 
tour  in  Arabia.  He  bears  on  his  body  the  marks  of 
stripes  from  Arabs,  who  on  one  occasion  beat  him 
unmercifully  and  left  him   almost  naked.      In   the  gray 

'  Edward  L.  Wilson,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Photographic 
Magazine,  failed  to  find  it,  as  did  Professor  Schaff.  Pere  Lagrange 
of  the  Dominicans,  Jerusalem,  who  approached  it  by  the  way  of 
Nakhi,  said:  "The  Arabs  pretended  utter  ignorance  of  Ain 
Kedeis,"  Revue  Biblique,  July,  1896.  This  Review  contains  a 
caustic  criticism  of  Trumbull's  Description  of  Gadis,  as  he  derived 
it  from  Guthe,  Zeitschrift  des  Palestina  Vereins,  Vol.  VIIL,  p. 
182,  ff.  P^re  Lagrange  writes,  after  giving  particulars  of  that 
which  Trumbull  described  with  great  enthusiasm,  "the  decep- 
tion was  so  great,  the  disenchantment  so  profound,  that  I  threw 
myself  on  Sheik  Suleiman,  crying  that  he  had  deceived  us.  He 
gravely  lifted  his  hand  toward  heaven,  swearing  by  the  Prophet 
that  there  was  no  other  Ain  Kedeis." 

*A  professor  of  one  of  the  American  theological  seminaries 
was  compelled  to  pay  ninety  dollars  blackmail  to  the  Arabs  in 
order  to  visit  Gadis. 

^I  copy  the  following  from  Journal  V.,  Jerusalem,  July  11,  1899: 
"I  have  been  waiting  here  ten  days  in  liope  that  the  restriction 
laid  by  the  Governor  of  Damascus  on  my  traveling  in  the  Leja 
and  the  Jebel  el-Druse  might  be  removed,  and  have  incurred  no 
little  expense  in  telegraphing  both  to  Mr.  Ravndal,  the  Consul  at 
Beirut,  and  to  Mr.  Oscar  Straus,  the  Miin'stcr  at  Constantinople, 
but  it  was  all  in  vain.  Mr.  Straus  saw  the  Grand  Vizier  at  Con- 
stantinople last  Saturday,  who  portrayed  the  dangers  of  the  jour- 
ney so  effectively  that  Mr.  Straus  telegraphed  I  should  not  go." 


36  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

morning  he  stole,  with  a  piece  of  sack  around  his  loins,  to 
the  house  of  Mr.  Murray,  in  Hebron,  where  he  secured 
a  suit  of  clothes. 

I  had  been  told  that  it  was  possible  to  approach  Gadis 
from  the  northeast  by  way  of  Beersheba.'  Mr.  Forder 
had  never  visited  the  place,  but  did  not  fear  to  attempt 
the  journey.  We  set  out  on  the  i8th  of  June  from  Jeru- 
salem, and  spent  the  first  night  at  Mar  Saba  in  the  wilder- 
ness. Thence  we  went  to  Hebron,  visited  Main  and 
Kurmul,  the  scene  of  David's  history  when  he  guarded 
the  sheep  of  the  churlish  Nabal,  and  when  he  afterwards 
took  Abigail  to  wife.^  We  visited  Juttah,  supposed  by 
some  to  be  the  birthplace  of  John  the  Baptist,^  and  passed 
the  night  at  Dahariyeh.  Thence  we  went  to  Beersheba, 
a  second  time.  On  my  first  visit,  in  the  summer  of  1899, 
I  found  that  there  were  four  wells,  the  Arabs  were  then 
engaged  in  reopening  the  fourth.  On  my  second  visit 
there  were  five,  and  I  was  shown  the  place  where  the 
sixth  and  seventh  were  to  be  found.* 

We  passed  on  through  the  South  Country,  which  derives 
its  water  supply  from  wells  only.  People  bring  all  their 
flocks  and  herds  a  distance  of  three  or  four  hours  for 
their  supplies  of  water.  It  is  a  great  sight  to  visit  such 
wells  as  those  at  Khalasa  or  at  Biren,  and  to  see  from  five 
to  seven  hundred  and  fifty  sheep  and  goats,  three  hundred 
camels,    and    numerous   asses — the    flocks   attended   by 

'  This  information  came  from  Dr.  Sterling,  who  was  then  mis- 
sionary of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  at  Gaza.  It  seems  that 
some  travelers  had  made  the  journey  from  Gaza,  as  Mrs  Patterson 
of  Hebron  told  me  she  had  met  three  Americans  who  had  visited 
Gadis,  going  by  way  of  Gaza. 

2 1  Sam.  XXV.  40-43. 

'"The  Juttah  of  Joshua,  xv.  55,  and  perhaps  also  the  'City  of 
Judah,'  of  Luke  i.  39." — Baedeker,  Palestine  and  Syria,  Leipsic 
1898,  p.  199. 

*See  Appendix  C. 


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UNOPENED   WELL   AT   BEERSHEBA. 


SPECIAL   RESEARCHES  37 

women,  the  camels  and  asses  by  men — and  to  reflect  that 
for  millenniums,  just  such  scenes  have  been  enacted  at 
these  wells  as  one  may  behold  to-day. 

At  a  tradesman's  tent  in  Khalasa  we  made  friends 
with  a  sheik  of  the  Azazimeh,  who  had  been  collecting 
taxes  for  the  Turkish  government  and  was  returning 
home.  After  much  hesitation  he  decided  to  go  with  us 
to  Gadis.  Accompanied  by  a  clansman  of  his  we  set  out 
about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Though  my  ther- 
mometer had  registered  ninety-two  degrees  Fahrenheit  in 
my  tent  about  half-past  two  p.  m.  the  day  before,  it  had 
fallen  to  fifty-nine  degrees  at  four  o'clock  a.  m.,  and  was 
so  cold  that  I  was  glad  of  the  abba  of  my  friend.  Every 
now  and  again  we  passed  by  flocks  of  goats  in  the  wilder- 
ness under  the  care  of  a  shepherdess,  for  in  that  country, 
as  well  as  in  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula,  girls  attend  the  flocks, 
like  Rachael  and  Zipporah'  in  the  days  of  old.  Each 
one  started  to  her  feet  at  the  sound  of  our  horses'  hoofs 
to  watch  the  travelers. 

We  wound  around  wadis,  where  there  were  small 
fields  of  wheat  with  strong  and  luxuriant  stalks,  and  where 
the  soil  was  kept  from  being  washed  away  in  the  rainy 
season  by  a  succession  of  low,  retaining  walls.  We  saw 
threshing-floors,  where  camels  were  treading  out  the 
grain.  Presently  we  left  the  country  of  the  Azazimeh 
and  came  to  that  of  the  Teyahah.  A  man  greeted  us 
savagely,  asked  us  whither  we  were  going,  and  assured 
us  if  we  kept  on  in  our  course  to  the  spring,  the  people 
there  would  cut  off  our  heads.     We  were  not  dismayed. 

About  noon  we  came  to  a  very  deep  and  wild  ravine, 
where  the  path  was  so  precipitous  that  we  had  to  dis- 
mount. We  saw  large  flocks  of  goats  in  the  distance, 
and  after  about   half   an    hour,   we    suddenly  came  on 

'Gen.  xxix.  9;  Ex.  ii.  16-21. 


38  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

Gadis.       Rather  a  small   stream   of  water   ran   through 
the    lowest    part   of    the    wadi.       On    the    right,    as    we 
entered  it,  was  a  succession  of  springs,  or  places  in  the 
ground  where  there  was  water,  perhaps  from  ten  to  fif- 
teen.    I  was  unable    to   make  careful   observations  on 
account  of  the  threatening  attitude  of  the  men  and  boys, 
who  charged  me  with  trying  to  bewitch  a  spring.     There 
were  from  three  to  five  hundred  goats,  scores  of  donkeys, 
and  some  camels.      Many  women  were  engaged  in  water- 
ing   their    flocks    and   in    filling  water-skins.     Gadis    is 
equivalent  to  Kadesh,  and  this  is  connected  with  a  root 
in  the  Semitic  family  of  languages  which  signifies  holy. 
The  spring  was  also  called  En  Mishpat,  or  spring  of  judg- 
ment.    As  we  shall  see,  such  a  place  might  be  conceived 
of  as  the  residence  of  a  spirit  to  whom  the  people  came 
for  judicial  decisions.'     This  may  have  been  the  site  of 
the  famous  Kadesh  Barnea.     At  least  no  place  has  yet 
been  discovered  which  so  well  fulfils  the   conditions  of 
the  problem.     There  is  good  sweet  water  in  considerable 
abundance  for  the  wilderness,  so  that  Gadis  is  in  marked 
contrast    to    the   rest    of    the    South    Country,  which   is 
dependent,  as  we  have  seen,  on  wells. 

As  I  cannot  do  more  in  the  present  work  than  to 
sketch  travels  which  were  of  wide  extent,  I  must  not 
delay  on  details,  which  were  most  interesting,  such  as  a 
night  at  Kurnub,  where  there  are  ruins  and  an  ancient 
dam  across  the  wadi.  We  had  hoped  to  cross  the  south- 
ern end  of  the  Dead  Sea  at  this  point  on  the  way  to  Petra, 
but  deceived  by  the  Arabs  as  to  our  ability  to  reach  an 
encampment  and  to  secure  food  for  our  animals,  we  spent 
an  anxious  night  in  the  wilderness,  full  of  the  sons  of  the 
desert,  who  might  have  massacred  us  and  none  would 

1  W.  Robertson  Smith,  Lectures  on  the  Religion  of  the  Sem- 
ites, New  York,  1889,  p.  165. 


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SPECIAL   RESEARCHES  39 

have  been  the  wiser.  Indeed  at  midnight  I  heard  foot- 
steps near  my  bed,  out  under  the  stars,  and  springing  to 
my  feet  saw  an  Arab  advancing  with  his  long  gun.  My 
outcry  put  him  to  flight.  The  next  day  we  reached  an 
Arab  encampment  on  the  way  to  Hebron,  where  there 
were  five  Turkish  horsemen  collecting  taxes.  A  more 
courteous,  hospitable  sheik  than  Salem,  of  the  Zulam 
tribe  of  Arabs,  whom  we  met  there,  I  have  never  seen. 
He  was  tastefully  dressed,  was  elegant  in  manners,  and 
graceful  in  every  gesture. 

After  returning  to  Jerusalem  and  resting  for  a  few 
days  we  set  out  for  Petra,  on  the  2d  of  July,  by  the  way 
of  Jericho,  Medeba,'  the  hot  springs  of  Callirrhoe, 
Machaerus,  Kerak,  Tafileh  (Tophel),  famed  for  its 
springs  and  olive  groves,  and  Shobek.  It  is  a  most 
interesting  journey.  At  certain  points  there  are  magnifi- 
cent views  of  the  southern  end  of  the  Dead  Sea.  We 
passed  Busera  in  Edom,  supposed  to  be  ancient  Bozra, 
to  which  allusion  is  made  in  a  passage  of  Isaiah.^  I  was 
surprised  to  find  how  cold  it  was  at  Shobek  in  the  sum- 
mer-time. I  was  glad  to  fold  my  blankets  at  night  so 
that  there  were  four  thicknesses.^ 

Others  have  described  Petra.  I  cannot  attempt  to  do 
so  in  this  work.  But  to  me  it  is  one  of  the  most  fasci- 
nating places  I  have  ever  visited.  The  Treasury  of 
Pharaoh,  which  you  behold  almost  at  once  after  riding 
twenty  minutes  through  a  narrow  cleft  in  the  rock  the 
walls  of  which  rise  in  some  places  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet,  might  seem  to  be  one  of  the  creations  of  Aladdin's 
lamp.  It  is  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock,  which  is  suffused 
with  a  light  carnation-pink,  and  seems  as  fresh  as  if  it 
had  been  hewn  yesterday. 

By  keeping  our  purpose  a  profound  secret,  we  eluded 

'  Deut.  i.  I.  '^Is.  Ixiii.  I.  ^Appendix  B. 


40  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

our  mounted  horsemen,  and  made  the  steep  ascent  to  the 
traditional  tomb  of  Aaron  at  Mount  Hor,  along  the  path 
which  in  many  places  passes  over  bare  rock.  None  saw 
us,  and  so  we  were  not  prevented  from  visiting  the  shrine. 
On  our  return  in  the  early  evening  our  horses  went  flying; 
Musa  our  guide  first,  I  next,  and  Mr.  Forder  last,  as  he 
observed,  "just  as  if  all  the  sprites  were  after  us." 

The  next  journey  was  to  Palmyra  and  the  Druse  Moun- 
tains. On  account  of  quarantine,  we  were  not  able  to 
go  by  Jaffa  and  Beirut,  so  had  to  take  our  journey  over- 
land, one  day  from  Jerusalem  to  Nablus,  one  from 
Nablus  to  Beisan,  one  from  Beisan  to  Irbid,  where,  as 
we  failed  to  find  the  Jisr  el-Mujami,  we  forded  the  Jordan 
in  the  wake  of  a  caravan  of  camels,  and  one  by  the  way 
of  Muzerib  and  the  railroad  to  Damascus. 

The  journey  to  Palmyra,  for  which  we  set  out  the  31st 

of  July,  had  no  especial  bearing  on  my  researches,  but  I 

had  deeply  regretted  that  when  I  was  within  less  than  a 

day  of  Tadmor  in  the  desert,  eighteen  months  before,  I 

had  not  visited  it.     We  drove  all  the  way  from  Damascus 

to  Palmyra  in  a  victoria.     We  were  accompanied  by  a 

single  horseman  from  Karyaten  whom  I  had  secured  with 

no  small  difficulty,  as  the  twenty-five   mounted  soldiers 

were  otherwise  engaged  and   he  had   brought  the  mail 

from  a  solitary  fort  in  the  desert,'  about  five  hours  from 

Palmyra.      Naturally  he  had   set  his  heart  on  enjoying 

some  of  the  pleasures  of  civilization  for  a  day  or  two,  and 

was  most  reluctant  to  return  at  once.      Off  we  drove  at 

night  over  what  seemed  like  the  trackless  ocean  of  the 

desert,    guided    by  our  horseman   and   drawn    by  three 

horses.      Early  in  the  morning  we  reached  Beda,  consist- 

'  The  term  Syrian  Desert  is  partly  a  misnomer.  In  March  it 
is  carpeted  with  verdure,  and  gay  with  flowers,  even  between 
Karyaten  and  Palmyra,  as  the  Rev.  John  Crawford,  D.D..  of 
Damascus  assured  me. 


SPECIAL    RESEARCHES  4I 

ing  only  of  a  fortress  by  a  deep  well  where  four  soldiers 
were  stationed.  There  we  rested  about  nine  hours,  and 
then  pushed  on.  In  the  early  evening  we  reached 
Palmyra.  The  ruins  are  extensive  and  magnificent. 
Baalbek,  Jerash,  Petra,  Palmyra,  who  that  has  seen  them 
can  be  the  same  person  any  more?  Each  has  a  fascina- 
tion of  its  own,  and  awakens  thoughts  and  emotions 
which  become  a  lifelong  possession. 

On  our  return  from  Palmyra,  we  undertook  a  tour  to 
the  Druse  Mountains  under  the  most  favorable  circum- 
stances. This  time  I  did  not  seek  the  permission  of  the 
government,  as  I  had  been  thwarted  in  my  endeavor  to 
visit  this  district  the  year  before.  Mr.  Forder  had 
secured  the  services  of  a  Druse  who  was  familiar  with 
the  country,  and  who  was  highly  esteemed  by  his  coreli- 
gionists. 

We  stole  out  of  Damascus,  the  13th  of  August,  by  one 
of  the  side  streets,  so  that  none  might  inquire  concerning 
our  destination,  or  be  inclined  to  stop  us.  Toward  even- 
ing, we  reached  a  point  where  we  met  several  caravans 
of  camels  during  half  an  hour.  I  had  fallen  behind.  My 
horse,  in  his  efforts  to  overtake  my  companions,  dropped 
my  saddle-bags  containing  my  notes  of  all  the  preceding 
journeys  of  that  summer.  Our  Druse  guide,  when  he 
learned  what  had  happened,  slipped  from  his  camel,  took 
my  horse,  and  at  once  galloped  after  the  last  Arab  cara- 
van, which  had  just  passed  us.  There,  off  in  the  wilder- 
ness, Mr.  Forder  and  I  stood  waiting  in  the  gloaming. 
They  were  anxious  moments,  because  almost  a  constant 
stream  of  dark,  wild  men  of  the  desert  were  passing  us, 
and  more  than  all,  because  these  precious  records  might 
be  lost  for  good.  In  due  time  our  Druse  appeared  with 
the  bags  and  everything  intact.  They  had  been  appro- 
priated by  a  cameleer. 


42  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC   RELIGION   TO-DAY 

At  ten  o'clock  at  night,  wrapped  in  our  abbas,  we 
passed  the  military  station,  on  the  frontier  at  Brak, 
where  a  guard  of  one  hundred  soldiers  were  peacefully 
sleeping.  On  we  went  to  the  first  house  of  entertainment 
{/nedayfeh)^  with  which  every  considerable  village  is 
supplied.  Thus  for  nine  days  we  traveled  without  tents 
in  the  country  of  the  Druses,  enjoying  a  delightful 
hospitality. 

I  had  my  bed,  but  with  the  exception  of  the  last  night, 
when  my  Druse  had  lain  on  it,  I  had  escaped  the  pests 
of  the  country.  On  this  tour  I  saw  some  most  interesting 
evidences  of  blood-sprinkling  and  of  other  curious  cus- 
toms. I  had  the  pleasure  of  spending  Sunday  at  the 
home  of  our  Druse  guide.  He  had  desired  we  should 
take  his  photograph.  I  had  stipulated  that  when  it  was 
taken  his  wife  should  be  in  the  group.  He  had  seemed 
to  accede  to  this  condition,  but  when  the  time  came  for 
the  picture  to  be  taken,  he  discovered  that  it  would  be 
a  "shame"  to  have  any  woman  in  the  group.  His  wife, 
a  sweet-faced  woman,  was  compelled  to  be  content  to 
stand  at  a  corner  of  the  house  with  her  babe  in  her  arms, 
shyly  looking  on  while  the  lords  of  creation  were  being 
photographed. 

These  journeys  seemed  rich  in  their  fruits.  On  reach- 
ing London  I  published  several  hundred  circulars  of 
inquiry  regarding  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  peoples 
of  the  East.'  These  I  sent  quite  widely  to  mission- 
aries. I  received  less  than  a  dozen  answers,  some  of 
these,  however,  were  valuable. 

On  my  return  to  my  work  at  the  Chicago  Theological 
Seminary,  I  prepared  a  course  of  ten  lectures  on  the 
Manners  and   Customs  of  the   Peoples  of  Bible   Lands, 

*  For  the  questions  on  the  religious  life  of  the  people  see 
Appendix  A. 


SPECIAL   RESEARCHES  43 

during  the  second  period  of  our  j-ear;  and  during 
the  third,  another  course  on  the  Survivals  of  Ancient 
Semitic  Religion  To-day.  This  latter  sketch  proved 
to  be  of  great  value  in  preparation  for  the  researches 
I  was  to  make  in  the  summer  of  1901,  the  results 
of  which  have  far  exceeded  anything  I  had  gained 
before. 

The  preceding  summer  I  had  arranged  with  the  Rev. 
J.  Stewart  Crawford  to  be  my  companion  and  interpreter. 
I  had  supplied  him  with  a  copy  of  the  list  of  questions 
prepared  in  London.  He  had  seen  but  little  light  on  the 
subject  of  my  inquiries  during  most  of  the  year,  but  in 
the  spring  of  1901,  a  series  of  floods  at  Nebk  revealed 
religious  beliefs  of  which  he  had  never  dreamed.  In  the 
prosecution  of  his  inquiries  he  had  the  assistance  of  two 
native  teachers,  Selim  and  Suleiman,  both  men  of  much 
intelligence  and  of  great  caution.  He  told  them,  in 
their  interviews  with  natives,  never  to  ask  leading  ques- 
tions, but  to  get  all  the  information  possible.  They  had 
regarded  with  disdain  "the  old  wives'  fables"  which  so 
abound  in  Syria,  but  under  his  encouragement  they 
undertook  the  task  with  great  success. 

I  landed  in  Beirut  to  spend  my  fourth  summer  in  Syria, 
the  first  day  of  June,  1901.  I  had  been  expecting  to 
begin  my  travels  at  once,  but  Mr.  Crawford  was  waiting 
for  the  arrival  of  a  surrey  from  America,  which  we  ex- 
pected to  use  on  our  iourney  for  four  days  from  Damas- 
cus to  Mehardeh  by  Nebk,  Homs,  and  Hamath.  While 
waiting  until  the  20th  of  June,  I  had  the  opportunity  to 
make  some  investigations  which  were  of  the  rarest  inter- 
est. I  shall  never  lose  the  fascination  of  the  first  inter- 
view which  I  had  with  the  priest  of  a  shrine,  of  whose 
existence  the  missionaries  had  not  dreamed,  though 
Doughty  must  have  seen  it  without  recognizing  its  signifi- 


44  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

cance.'  This  first  interview,  in  tlie  information  and 
suggestions  gained,  was  most  inspiring,  and  was  of  happy- 
augury  for  others  which  were  to  follow. 

Between  the  Lebanon  and  the  Anti-Lebanon  is  the 
famous  plain  of  the  Buka,  in  which  rise  the  sources  of  the 
Orontes  and  the  Litani,  and  in  which  are  the  magnificent 
ruins  of  Baalbek. 

Parallel  to  the  first  range  of  the  Anti-Lebanon  is  a 
second  east  of  it,  and  between  these  ranges  is  a  large 
valley,  though  of  far  less  extent  in  length  and  width  than 
the  Buka,  the  southern  part  of  which  is  known  as  the 
Plain  of  Zebedani.  In  this  valley  rises  the  Barada,  com- 
monly supposed  to  have  been  the  Abana,  to  which  Naa- 
man  refers."  It  is  also  traversed  by  the  railway  from 
Beirut  to  Damascus. 

The  observant  traveler,  after  leaving  the  station  of 
Zebedani,  on  his  way  to  Damascus,  may  notice,  a  little 
past  the  village  of  Bludan,  a  grove  of  oaks,  covering 
several  acres  on  one  of  the  foothills  of  the  second  range 
of  Anti-Lebanon.  It  has  long  been  known  among 
the  missionaries  as  the  "Mother  of  Pieces"  {Umm 
Shakakif)  from  the  custom  of  breaking  jars  in  fulfillment 
of  a  vow,  though  the  legends  connected  with  the  name 
were  first  ascertained   by  Mr.  Crawford   and  myself  on 

'Travels  in  Arabia  Deserta,  Cambridge,  1888,  Vol.  I.,  p.  450. 
"In  the  W.  Barada, near  Damascus, where  certain  heathenish  cus- 
toms do  yet  remain  amongst  the  Moslemin,  I  have  visited  two 
groves  of  evergreen-oaks,  which  are  wishing-places  for  the  peas- 
antry. If  the  thing  fall  to  them  for  which  they  vowed,  they  will 
go  to  the  one  on  a  certain  day  of  the  year  to  break  a  crock  there; 
or  they  lay  up  a  new  stean  in  a  little  cave  which  is  under  the  rock 
at  the  other.  There  I  have  looked  in  and  saw  it  full  to  the  entry 
of  their  yet  whole  offering-pots;  in  that  other  grove  jou  will  see 
the  heap  of  their  broken  potsherds.  [The  groves  are  in  the  valley 
coast  westward  above  the  village  of  Zibidany.]"  He  should  have 
said  eastward  above  the  village. — C. 

^  2  Kings  V.  12. 


SACKKD   GROVE    AT    IHK    "MOTHER    OF    PIECES." 


PLATFORM    OF   "MOTHER    OF   PIECES." 


SPECIAL   RESEARCHES  45 

the  i8th  of  June,  and  are  now  published,  in  another 
connection,  for  the  first  time. 

Such  a  grove,  which  would  be  common  enough  in  other 
countries,  easily  suggests  to  the  student  of  the  religious 
customs  of  Syria  a  sacred  grove.  Such  groves,  aside 
from  some  religious  use,  are  comparatively  rare  in  Syria 
and  Palestine,  as  the  temptation  is  very  great  to  use  the 
wood  for  charcoal  or  for  some  other  purpose. 

On  visiting  a  hillside,  which  slopes  rather  abruptly, 
one  finds  a  rectangular  plot  of  ground,  or  platform,  com- 
posed of  earth,  which  is  supported  on  two  sides  by 
retaining  walls,  meeting  at  right  angles  at  the  southwest 
corner.  The  wall  in  front,  running  nearly  north  and  south, 
is  thirty-five  feet  long,  the  other,  running  nearly  east 
and  west,  is  forty-four  feet.  The  highest  part  of  the 
front  wall  is  six  feet  eight  inches.  There  are  no  evi- 
dences of  cement  between  the  stones,  which  are  of  their 
natural  size,  except  they  have  been  broken  so  as  to  give 
a  rough  face.  Back  of  the  first  platform  there  are  traces 
of  a  second,  on  which  I  discovered  the  remains  of  a 
lintel,  with  a  hollow  for  a  hinge,  such  as  is  common  in 
the  buildings  of  the  country.  The  presence  of  this  stone 
seemed  to  indicate  that  a  building  once  existed  here. 
Whether  we  have  in  this  platform  the  remains  of  an 
ancient  high  place  cannot  be  determined,  though  it  does 
not  seem  unlikely. 

At  a  considerable  distance  farther  on,  about  a  third 
of  the  way  up  the  mountain,  are  other  oaks,  and  a  promi- 
nent rock,  described  by  some  missionaries  as  having  the 
shape  of  a  natural  altar,  though  the  top  of  it  has  been 
artificially  smoothed.  On  visiting  it,  the  nth  of  June, 
with  a  muleteer,  who  is  a  nominal  Christian,  I  learned 
that  it  was  called  "Rock  of  the  Chair"  {Kalat  el-Kursi). 
It  was  on  this  visit  I  discovered  that  there  was  a  well 


46  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

underneath  the  base  of  the  monolith,  which  is  superim- 
posed upon  two  projections  of  the  ledge  below,  thus 
forming  a  little  cave,  in  which  I  found  a  small  banner  of 
cotton  cloth,  with  an  Arabic  inscription  on  it,  beginning 
in  the  usual  way,  "In  the  name  of  God,  the  merciful, 
the  compassionate,"  etc.  There  were  some  bits  of  mat- 
ting about  the  size  of  door-mats  laid  over  each  other  and 
water-jars,  perhaps  designed  for  oil.  Two  other  visits 
were  made  later  with  Mr.  Crawford.  The  first  on  the 
1 8th  of  June,  when  we  learned  from  the  care-taker,  or 
minister,^  that  it  was  called  among  the  Moslems  "Chair 
of  the  Leaders"  {Kursi  el-Aktab). 

The  situation  of  the  "Chair"  is  one  of  rare  beauty  and 
grandeur.  To  the  south  is  Hermon,  usually  striped  with 
snow  before  it  has  dissolved  under  the  fierce  Syrian  sun; 
to  the  northwest  is  the  highest  summit  of  Lebanon. 
Below  is  the  lovely  valley  of  Zebedani,  with  its  rich 
meadows,  covered  with  grain,  its  tall  green  poplars,  its 
vineyards,  and  in  general  a  profusion  of  foliage,  which  is 
in  sharp  contrast  to  much  of  the  barren  scenery  in  Syria. 
The  thoughts  of  the  ancient  worshipers,  mounted  on 
this  rock,  whatever  their  cult,  as  they  gazed  on  this 
grand  and  beautiful  scene,  must  have  been  of  an  inspir- 
ing character. 

The  "Chair,"  which  resembles  a  great  natural  altar, 
rises  thirty-two  feet,  fronting  toward  the  valley.  Its 
width  near  the  base,  northwest  by  west  and  southeast  by 
east,  is  about  twenty  feet.  The  dimensions  of  the  top, 
which  is  perfectly  flat  and  rectangular,  are  fourteen  feet 
six  inches  in  length,  running  nearly  north  and  south,  by 
eleven  feet  three  inches  running  nearly  east  and  west. 
It  is,  therefore,  in  the  shape  of  a  rough  monolith.     The 

'  I  had  visited  the  place  June  lo,  and  did  so  again  August  3, 
1901,  when  I  took  as  exact  measurements  as  possible. 


PART   OK    TIIK    "CHAIR    OF    THK    LEADERS." 
THE   DARK   OPENINC.   IS   A   SMALL  CAVERN    USED   AS   A  SHRINE. 


SPECIAL   RESEARCHES  47 

appearance  of  this  rock  on  the  brink  of  a  precipice  at 
least  sixty  feet  in  depth,  with  sacred  oaks  all  around  it, 
about  a  third  of  the  way  up  the  mountain,  is  command- 
inor.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  from  the  earliest  times 
it  has  been  set  apart  for  some  sacred  use.  It  may  be 
that  altar-fires  have  been  kindled  on  its  summit.  It 
may  have  been  a  favored  place  for  the  adoration  of 
the  sun.  The  rites  now  observed  are  doubtless  differ- 
ent from  what  they  once  were,  but  their  existence  testifies 
to  the  sacred  character  of  the  rock  in  ancient  times.  It 
is  impossible  to  determine  whether  it  was  put  in  its 
present  place  by  human  hands  or  by  some  convulsion  of 
nature.     The  latter  seems  more  probable. 

For  prudential  reasons  I  cannot  enter  into  details  of 
the  journeys  undertaken  during  the  summer  of  1901,  in 
giving  names  and  the  circumstances  of  each  interview. 
They  are  all  in  my  journals,  and  were  taken  down  with 
the  utmost  care.  Each  day  was  a  surprise,  with  reference 
to  the  people  with  whom  I  had  interviews.  I  do  not  see 
how  I  could  have  been  more  favored  had  I  been  gifted 
with  the  power  to  summon  whom  I  would,  for  I  conversed, 
through  Mr.  Crawford,  with  men  familiar  with  distant 
parts  of  the  Arab  world,  who  had  traveled  widely  and 
observed  many  curious  customs. 

There  were  Arabs  and  men  who  had  lived  with  Arabs; 
there  were  Bedouin;  there  were  Moslems,  including  those 
who  held  official  positions  in  mosques  and  at  shrines; 
there  were  representatives  of  sects  who  had  been  initi- 
ated, whose  disclosures,  if  known,  might  have  meant 
death  to  them.  The  statements  of  Suleiman  of  Adana 
were  confirmed,  and  an  interesting  manuscript  was  found. 
Almost  every  day  was  a  revelation  and  a  delight,  for  the 
information  received  was  beyond  the  most  sanguine 
expectations,  and  often  came  from  sources,  and  on  occa- 


48  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

sions  least  expected.  Mr.  Crawford  was  much  surprised, 
for  we  were  hearing  about  matters  concerning  which  the 
veteran  missionaries  of  the  country  had  no  clear  and 
connected  knowledge.  We  experienced  a  joy  and  intoxi- 
cation like  men  who  have  found  a  treasure.  So  far  as  it 
was  possible  for  us,  we  were  careful  in  receiving  our 
information  and  in  testing  it. 

Our  first  journey,  which  lasted  from  the  21st  of  June  to 
the  19th  of  July,  covered  the  following  chief  points :  Nebk, 
Homs,  Hamath,  Mehardeh,  Ain  Kurum,  Ladikiyeh, 
Jendairieh,  Dibbash,  Behammra,  Baniyas,  Musyaf,  and 
the  return  was  over  Mehardeh,  Hamath,  Homs,  Nebk, 
and  so  back  to  Damascus.  Besides,  we  visited  Rasheya, 
Mount  Hermon,  and  Nebi  Safa. 

I  also  had  the  privilege  of  attending  the  second  mis- 
sionary conference  at  Brummana,  and  of  visiting  Abbas 
Effendi,  the  head  of  the  Babites  at  Acre. 

The  value  of  the  researches  which  I  was  enabled  to 
make  must  stand  the  test  of  criticism.  I  am  aware  that 
at  certain  points  they  are  incomplete.  But  I  hope  to 
continue  my  travels  and  researches,  and  in  my  efforts  to 
receive  further  information  shall  welcome  criticism  and 
suggestions,  and  shall  hope  for  the  co-operation  of  those 
who  can  add  anything  which  may  enforce  or  correct 
the  positions  taken,  or  shed  new  light  upon  them. 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   SOURCES   OF   PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION 

The  student  of  early  Semitic  religion  is  at  once  con- 
fronted with  the  question  of  the  sources  to  which  he  shall 
go  for  investigation.  There  are  two  chief  methods  of 
approach,  one  is  to  take  the  religious  literature,  as  far 
as  it  exists,  in  the  great  branches  of  the  Semitic  peoples, 
the  other  is  to  study  the  customs  and  beliefs  of  modern 
Semites. 

There  should  be  abundant  materials  for  the  former 
among  the  clay  tablets  of  the  ancient  Babylonians.  How 
suggestive  and  fruitful  these  are  may  be  seen  from  such 
a  work  as  that  of  Zimmern.^  There  are  also  plenti- 
ful materials  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  especially 
in  the  Old  Testament,  and  in  the  literature  of  the  ancient 
Arabs.  The  results  of  researches  in  this  latter  domain 
were  brought  most  clearly  to  light  in  W.  Robertson 
Smith's  Religion  of  the  Semites. 

It  is  perhaps  the  most  natural  assumption  that  the 
form  of  Semitic  religion,  which  is  most  ancient  in  years, 
is  most  ancient  in  fact,  and  comes  nearest  to  revealing 
the  primitive  form  of  Semitic  religion.  If  this  be  so,  we 
shall  turn  to  the  records  of  the  Babylonians,  written  in  a 
Semitic  language,  for  they  reach  back  several  thousand 
years  before  Christ.  But  such  a  method  is  open  to  this 
objection,  that  we  may  not  be  able  to  reach  primitive 
conditions  by  the  use  of  it,  since  there  was  a  high  degree 
of  civilization  in  ancient  Babylonia,  and  civilization  is  a 

'  Beitrage  zur  Kenntnis  der  Babylonischen  Religion,  Leipzig, 
1901. 

49 


50  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

disturbing  element  in  the  study  of  primitive  forms  of 
religion.*  If  we  really  wish  to  learn  what  the  original 
religious  conceptions  were,  we  shall  study  those  peoples 
and  those  usages  which  have  been  least  affected  by  civili- 
zation, so  that  a  people  living  to-day  may  present  more 
that  is  primitive  in  their  religious  ideas  and  customs  than 
the  most  ancient  record  can  afford. 

For  a  similar  reason,  while  we  shall  find  much  of 
greatest  value  for  the  discussion  of  this  subject  in  the 
Bible,  we  must  remember  that  original  pictures  of  primi- 
tive conditions  have  been  seriously  affected  in  that  book 
by  later  developments  in  religious  teaching  and  history; 
in  other  words,  by  the  influences  which  they  have  received 
outside  of  the  primitive  life  of  the  people,  or  through 
Divine  revelation.  But  the  student  who  has  once  recog- 
nized the  constituent  elements  of  primitive  Semitic  reli- 
gion, from  whatever  source  he  may  have  derived  them, 
will  find  abundant  suggestions  of  their  survival  and  influ- 
ence in  shaping  and  giving  expression  to  religious  con- 
ceptions among  the  Assyrians  and  the  Hebrews,  which 
otherwise  would  have  appeared  in  a  different  form. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  accounts  of  the  ancient  Arabs, 

as  used  by  Wellhausen  and  W.  Robertson  Smith,  in  their 

'W.Robertson  Smith,  Religion  of  the  Semites,  New  York, 
1889,  pp.  14,  15,  well  says,  after  remarking  that  "the  preponder- 
ating opinion  of  Assyriologists  is  to  the  effect  that  the  civilization 

of    Assyria    and    Babylonia   was     not    purely  Semitic If 

this  be  so,  it  is  plain  that  the  cuneiform  material  must  be  used 
with  caution  in  our  inquiry  into  the  type  of  religion  characteristic 
of  the  ancient  Semites.  That  Babylonia  is  the  best  starting-point 
for  a  comparative  study  of  ancient  beliefs  and  practices  of  the 
Semitic  peoples  is  an  idea  which  has  lately  had  some  vogue 
and  which  at  first  sight  appears  plausible  on  account  of  the  great 
antiquity  of  the  monumental  evidence.  But  in  matters  of  this 
sort,  ancient  and  primitive  are  not  synonymous  terms;  and  we 
must  not  look  for  the  most  primitive  form  of  Semitic  faith  in  a 
region  where  society  was  not  primitive.  In  Babylonia,  it  would 
seem,  society  and  religion  alike  were  based  on  a  fusion  of  two 
races  and  so  were  not  primitive  but  complex." 


SOURCES    OF   PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION       5  I 

investigations,  probably  afford  the  most  trustworthy 
guide  in  the  study  of  primitive  religion,  and  the  most 
trustworthy  representation  of  its  original  character,  aside 
from  the  sources  which  we  may  find  to-day  among  the 
peoples  who  have  transmitted  primitive  institutions  from 
a  remote  antiquity. 

If  we  turn  to  the  literature  of  Islam,  we  are  presented 
with  a  problem  similar  to  that  found  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. There  is  an  abundance  of  original  Semitic  ideas 
and  usages,  but  these  have  been  considerably  distorted 
through  the  medium  of  Judaism,  and  to  some  extent 
through  Christianity,  which  have  exercised  an  influence 
upon  the  teachings  of  Mohammed,  the  founder  of  Islam.' 
The  student  who  begins  his  study  with  the  Koran  cannot 
be  certain  as  to  that  which  is  original  in  Semitic  religion 
and  that  which  is  not. 

Where,  then,  are  the  sources  of  primitive  Semitic  reli- 
gion to  be  found,  aside  from  the  accounts  which  we  have 
of  the  ancient  heathen  Arabs?  Shall  we  not  follow  essen- 
tially the  same  method  in  this  study  as  has  been  used  so 
successfully  by  Mr.  Andrew  Lang  in  his  Making  of  Reli- 
gion; by  Frazer  in  his  Golden  Bough;  and  others? 
Whence  do  these  writers  derive  the  materials  for  their 
conceptions  of  primitive  religion,  of  which  primitive 
Semitic  religion  is  but  a  subdivision?  Is  it  not  mainly 
from  studies  in  the  life  of  primitive  peoples  as  they  were 
found  and  may  still  be  found  among  the  American  Indi- 
ans, among  the  aborigines  of  Australasia  and  of  Africa, 
and  among  the  ignorant  and  simple-minded  of  civilized 
peoples?  It  is  to  such  that  they  have  gone  for  their 
materials. 

'  Geiger,  Was  hat  Mohammed  aiis  dem  Judenthume  Aufge- 
nomen?  Bonn,  1833;  Noldeke,  Geschichte  des  Qorans,  Gottingen, 
i860. 


52  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

If,  then,  we  follow  their  example,  we  shall  conduct 
our  investigations  among  those  Semites  who  have  been 
least  affected  by  Judaism,  Christianity,  or  Islam.  There 
are  multitudes  of  these  who  have  preserved  the  most 
antique  ideas  and  customs.  The  tenacity  with  which  the 
Oriental  mind  if  left  to  itself,  holds  that  which  has  always 
been,  and  turns  to  it  as  unerringly  as  the  needle  to 
the  pole,  has  been  often  observed,  and  is  our  guaranty 
that  we  may  find  primitive  religious  conditions  among 
people  with  whom,  if  we  approach  them  in  the  right  way, 
we  may  hold  intercourse  to-day. 

The  educated  among  them  may  be  ignorant  of  such 
customs  because  they  deem  them  beneath  their  notice, 
and  so  unworthy  of  their  observation,  or  through  shame 
that  their  people  should  be  so  superstitious  and  ignorant 
they  may  deny  the  existence  of  such  customs,  but  pa- 
tience and  the  right  method  will  bring  out  the  truth. 

The  best  results  in  the  study  of  primitive  religion  may 
be  found  through  direct  investigation  at  many  different 
points  in  Syria  and  Palestine.  Elements  will  be  found 
which  may  be  traced  in  other  manifestations  of  Semitic 
religion,  as  seen  among  the  Babylonians,  the  Phoenicians, 
the  Moabites,  the  Hebrews,  the  Moslems,  and  all  other 
Semites  who  have  left  any  monuments  of  their  religious 
beliefs  and  practices.  But  our  conception  of  primitive 
Semitic  religion  is  to  be  gained  by  an  induction  from 
facts  and  phenomena  found  among  the  modern  Semites. 
Of  this  primitive  Semitic  religion,  when  once  we  have 
recognized  its  characteristic  features,  we  shall  find  hints, 
suggestions,  and  examples  in  the  historic  religions  of  the 
ancient  Semitic  literatures.  Each  of  them  has  been 
built  upon  these  primitive  foundations  or  to  use  another 
illustration,  each  displays  traits  derived  from  this  com- 
mon ancestor. 


SOURCES   OF   PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION       53 

The  temptation  is,  indeed,  very  great  to  suppose  that 
the  religion  which  is  most  ancient  in  years  must  be  nearer 
the  primal  sources  than  anything  we  may  find  to-day, 
when  in  fact,  if  civilization  has  come  in,  or  a  process  of 
development,  it  may  be  much  farther  away.  The  ques- 
tion is  not  when  a  man  left  a  certain  road,  but  whether 
he  has  left  it  at  all;  not  when  he  changed  his  religious 
beliefs  and  usages,  but  whether  he  has  really  changed 
them.  Hence  the  simple,  modern  Semite  who  has  remained 
untouched  by  the  world's  progress  may  represent  a  prim- 
itive religion  which  was  in  existence  before  the  ancient 
Babylonian  empire  began  to  be,  or  was  even  thought  of. 
From  this  point  of  view,  the  thousands  of  years  by  which 
Babylonian  civilization  was  measured  do  not  count,  for 
the  purposes  of  our  investigation  they  are  but  one  day. 

I  emphasize  this  point  because  we  are  otherwise  in 
danger  of  being  seriously  misled.  Zimmern  seems  to  me 
to  indicate  this  tendency  when  he  urges  that  the  Assyrian 
word  kuffuru  (to  atone,  or  expiate),  as  used  in  the 
Babylonian  Ritual  of  Atonement,  which  is  identical  with 
kipper,  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  a  technical  term  in  the 
priests'  language  for  atonement,  is  primitive;  that  the 
Hebrews  derived  it  from  the  Babylonians;  the  Aramaeans 
from  the  Hebrews;  and  the  Arabs  received  the  word 
from  the  Aramaeans.  Evidently  he  is  impressed  by  the 
extreme  age  of  the  Babylonian  religion.  But  is  it  not 
probable  that  this  word,  which  is  found  among  simple, 
ignorant  Arabs  to-day,  may  be  from  the  primitive  Semitic 
stock,  from  which  Assyrians,  Hebrews,  and  Aramaeans 
have  derived  it?  I  think  that  any  one  who  reads  the 
definitions  of  kafara  and  its  derivatives  in  Lane's  Arabic 
English  Lexicon  must  be  persuaded  that  he  is  dealing 
with  a  primitive  Arabic  word,  from  which  the  technical 
sense  was  naturally  derived. 


54  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

Zimmern  finds  more  than  hints  of  a  use  of  blood,  which 
remind  him  of  the  sprinkHng  of  blood  in  connection 
with  the  Passover.'  He  does  not  argue  that  the  Hebrews 
derived  this  rite  from  the  Babylonians,  though  he  might 
be  tempted  to  do  so.^  We  shall  see,  however,  that  we 
are  dealing  with  a  primitive  Semitic  institution,  or  one, 
even  if  we  look  into  other  literatures,  which  is  found 
among  other  peoples.  It  will  be  clear,  I  think,  that  the 
Babylonians  derived  the  word  kuffuru  from  a  language 
kindred  to  that  of  the  Semitic  forebears,  from  whom 
Hebrews,  Aramaeans,  and  Arabs  have  sprung. 

Zimmern  does  not  call  special  attention  to  the  sacri- 
fices for  houses,  though  he  alludes  to  them,  but  in  one  of 
the  tablets  there  are  clear  indications  of  such  sacrifices.^ 
Here,  again,  it  might  be  supposed  that  a  custom  very 
prevalent  among  the  ignorant  Arabs  had  been  derived 

'Ex.  xii.  7, 

'Op.  cit.,  p.  127:  "The  exorcist  shall  to  the  ....  gate  go 
out,  a  sheep  in  the  gate  of  the  palace  he  shall  offer,  with  the  blood 
of  this  lamb  the  lintel  ....  and  post  right  and  left  before  the 
gate  of  the  palace."  .... 

Zimmern  supplies  the  word  askuppati, 

3  0p.  cit.,  pp.  147-149- 

.* 

"  To  the  house  thou  shalt  take  them. 

Upon  a  pedestal  shalt  thou  place  them.t 

To  direct  their  eyes  to  the  rising  sun,  to  bring  them  bowls  of 
consecrated  water  of  incense  and  torches. 

As  soon  as  the  sun  goes  down  thou  shalt  the  house  ....  shalt 
prepare  a  sacrifice  for  Marduk,  shalt  offer  a  lamb  thou  shalt  place 

four  altars,  shalt  sacrifice  four  sacrifices  of  lambs,  shalt  remove 
the  preparation  for  the  sacrifices. 

For  .... 

Thou  shalt  place  three  altars  for  the  house  god,  the  house  god- 
dess and  the  house  demon,  three  sacrifices  of  lambs  shalt  thou 
sacrifice." 

*"  This  and  the  following  texts  have  to  do  with  the  preparation  and  ser- 
vice of  the  imag'es  as  household  gods,  as  protecting  deities  against  demons, 
witches,  etc.,  which  are  brought  in  at  the  gate  of  the  liouse."    Zimmern  Note. 

t"  Meaning  the  prepared  images  of  the  protecting  deities."    Ibid. 


SOURCES   OF    PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION       55 

from  the  Babylonians,  but  no  one  who  has  the  facts 
before  him,  as  they  appear  later  in  our  discussion,  will 
have  the  hardihood  to  make  such  an  assumption. 

It  is  our  object  to  apply  the  touchstone  of  primitive 
Semitic  religion  thus  found  to  the  Semitic  religions  of 
ancient  literature.  I  cannot  attempt  anything  more  in 
my  investigation  than  to  indicate  some  of  the  lineaments 
and  characteristics  of  this  primitive  Semitic  religion 
which  have  been  described  by  W.  Robertson  Smith,  and 
of  which,  as  I  have  indicated  in  the  introductory  chapter, 
I  have  gathered  fresh  examples,  and  new  materials  have 
been  discovered  for  other  conclusions  regarding  that 
religion. 

I  cannot  even  attempt,  at  this  stage  of  my  investiga- 
tion, from  the  standpoint  of  an  Old-Testament  interpreter, 
to  give  any  systematic,  much  less  exhaustive,  treatment 
of  the  subject.      I  can  simply  show  the  way. 

But  of  this  I  am  assured,  that  while  the  peculiarities  of 
this  ancient  Semitic  religion  were  in  nowise  necessary 
for  a  divine  revelation,  that  revelation,  through  God's 
gracious  condescension  and  in  His  divine  wisdom,  has 
taken  not  a  little  of  its  form  and  color  from  primitive 
Semitic  religion,  should  it  be  found  too  much  to  affirm 
that  it  furnished  the  historical  starting-point  for  the  reli- 
gion of  the  ancient  Israel. 


CHAPTER   V 

MODERN   SEMITES 

Professor  Sayce  and  others  have  described  the  diffi- 
culty which  is  found  in  making  an  accurate  definition  of 
the  Semites.'  It  is  hardly  practicable  to  consider  those 
who  speak  a  Semitic  language  and  those  in  whose  veins 
flows  Semitic  blood  as  coextensive.^  It  is  clear  from 
various  points  of  view,  even  from  those  furnished  by 
Arabs  themselves,  that  while  theoretically  they  derive 
their  pedigree  from  one  ancestor,'  their  tribes  are  made 
up  of  diverse  elements,  which  have  been  incorporated  by 
covenant,  or  as  slaves.  Even  on  the  face  of  the  Old 
Testament  record  there  are  more  than  hints  of  the  infu- 
sion of  outside  elements  among  the  progenitors  of  ancient 
Israel. 

In  the  representations  of  patriarchal  life,  Abraham 
appears  as  an  emir,  with  a  trained  band  of  three  hundred 
and  eighteen  men.*  As  each  of  these  men  must  have 
had  a  wife  and  at  least  one  or  more  children,  there  must 

'  Races  of  the  Old  Testament.    London,  1891,  pp.  69,  ff. 

Cf.  an  interesting  and  learned  discussion  of  the  subject  by 
Barton:  A  Sketch  of  Semitic  Origins,  Social  and  Religious.  New 
York,  1902,  pp.  I  ff. 

2  Sayce,  op.  cit.,  p.  70.  "  The  ancient  population  of  Babylonia 
was  a  mixed  one,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  predominant  element 
in  it  remained  non-Semitic  to  the  end,  although  it  had  learned  to 
speak  a  Semitic  idiom.  It  is  questionable  whether  the  Phoeni- 
cians or  Canaanites  were  of  purely  Semitic  ancestry,  and  yet  it 
was  from  them  that  the  Israelites  learned  the  language  which  we 
call  Hebrew." 

'W.  Robertson  Smith,  Kinship  and  Marriage  in  Early  Arabia, 
Cambridge,  1885,  pp.  3  ff.  I  have  heard  various  examples  from 
the  Arabs  of  a  similar  sort. 

^Gen.  xiv.  14. 

56 


MODERN   SEMITES  57 

have  been  an  encampment  of  three  hundred  and  fifty 
tents  and  a  population  of  twelve  hundred.  While  these 
are  not  reckoned  in  the  Bible  as  the  tribe  of  Abraham, 
among  both  ancient  and  modern  Semites  they  would  be 
thus  reckoned,  as  if  they  were  of  his  own  flesh  and  blood. 
It  is  true  that  this  retinue  of  servants  disappears  in 
the  account  that  is  given  of  the  twelve  patriarchs,  who 
go  down  to  Egypt  as  individuals,'  but  we  read  of  a  mixed 
multitude  who  follow  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt.^ 
The  blood  of  these  original  tribes  could  not  be  kept  pure, 
when  "blood  brotherhood"  through  covenant  constitutes 
a  closer  tie  among  Orientals  than  brotherhood  through 
descent,'  and  those  who  are  gathered  under  one  leader 
are  considered  as  belonging  to  the  same  tribe. 

Dr.  Henry  Clay  Trumbull  gives  an  interesting  illus- 
tration of  the  fact  that  people,  not  at  all  related  to  each 
other,  are  reckoned  in  the  East  as  members  of  the  same 
family.      He  writes:* 

"My  two  traveling  companions  were  young  men, 
neither  of  them  being  a  relative  of  mine.  This  fact 
was  well  understood  by  our  Egyptian  dragoman,  but 
when  we  first  met  old  Shaykh  Moosa,  who  was  to  convey 
us  from  Cairo  to  Sinai,  the  three  were  presented  to  him 
as  'Mr.  Trumbull  and  his  two  sons.'  At  this  I  touched 
the  dragoman  and  said,  quietly,  'Not  my  sons,  but 
young  friends  of  mine.' 

"  'That's  all  right,'  said  the  dragoman.  'He  wouldn't 
understand  anything  else.' 

"Then  I  found  that  each  traveling  party  was  known 
as  a  'family,'  of  which  the  senior  member  was  the  father. 

'  Gen.  xlvi.  1-27. 

'  Ex.  xii.  37-38. 

•Trumbull,  The  Blood  Covenant,  Philadelphia,  1893,  P-  H- 

*  Studies  in  Oriental  Social  Life,  Philadelphia,  1894,  p.  238. 


58  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

So  it  was  simply  a  choice  in  our  case,  whether  I  should 
be  called  the  young  men's  father,  or  one  of  them  should 
be  called  mine;  one  of  us  must  stand  for  the  father  of 
the  other  two.  In  view  of  this  alternative,  I,  from  that 
time  on,  passed  as  the  father  of  the  'family,'  until  the 
desert  was  crossed." 

While,  therefore,  it  would  be  of  the  utmost  interest  if 
we  could  unwind  the  strands  which  have  been  twisted 
together  in  tribal  life,  and  trace  the  modern  Bedouin 
back  to  the  ancient  Bedouin  and  Arabs,  known  as  the 
Midianites  and  all  the  children  of  the  East,'  this  is  not 
necessary  for  our  purpose.  Those  who  live  in  Semitic 
lands,  and  who  use  Semitic  forms  of  speech,  have  also 
retained  Semitic  customs. 

Semitic  speech  and  Semitic  territory  conjoined,  even 
if  we  could  prove  that  radical  changes  have  been  made 
in  the  population,  would  be  found  more  powerful  for 
sustaining  ancient  customs  than  alien  blood  in  obliter- 
ating them.  Whatever  ignorant  Oriental  people  might 
take  up  their  abode  in  northern  Syria,  if  we  could  sup- 
pose that  the  present  inhabitants  could  come  under 
subjection  to  them,  would  soon  become  converts  to  the 
worship  of  the  high  places.  The  seats  of  ancient  Canaan- 
itish  heathenism  had  power  to  master  the  Israelitish  con- 
querors of  Canaan,  who  had  from  the  very  beginning 
been  accustomed  to  a  worship  which  was  not  dissimilar 
to  that  of  the  conquered;  and  any  Oriental  people  com- 
ing into  the  same  country  to-day  would  fall  under  the 
spell  of  ancient  heathenism  and  superstition.  The  con- 
quered people  allied  with  the  high  places  and  seats  of 
primeval  worship  become  the  conquerors  in  religion. 
The  little  maid  of  Naaman's  wife  had  power  to  set  in 

'  Cf.  George  Adam  Smith,  The  Historical  Geography  of  the 
Holy  Land,  New  York,  1895,  P-  8. 


MODERN    SEMITES  59 

motion  a  train  of  influences  which  led  the  proud  Syrian 
to  humble  himself,  so  that  he  sought  healing  from  the 
prophet  of  the  despised  Israelites,  and  at  last  turned  from 
the  bright  waters  of  his  beautiful  Damascus  to  wash  in 
those  of  the  turbid  Jordan.' 

Again,  in  modern  times  there  is  a  well-attested  instance 
of  the  same  principle  in  a  servant  being  able  to  induce  an 
intelligent  English  woman  to  yield  to  superstition.^  The 
story  goes  that  there  was  the  wife  of  an  English  ofificer  in 
India,  well  advanced  in  years,  who  was  childless.  Her 
Hindustani  maid  knew  of  a  temple  to  which  barren  Hin- 
doo women  had  recourse,  which  was  a  place  of  phallic 
worship  so  common  in  India. ^  The  Hindustani  maid 
firmly  believed  that  if  her  mistress  could  be  induced  to 
go  thither  and  take  her  seat  in  the  prescribed  manner  she 
would  become  a  mother.  Her  English  mistress,  perhaps 
partly  through  curiosity,  and  partly  to  please  her  maid, 
repaired  to  the  temple  and  took  the  seat  as  directed;  in 
due  time,  as  in  so  many  other  cases  of  a  similar  sort,* 
she  had  a  son. 

This,  then,  illustrates  the  proposition,  that  the  con- 
quered race  allied  with  high  places  and  seats  of  primeval 
worship  can  maintain  themselves  against  every  Ori- 
ental conqueror.  If  we  establish  this  point,  we  may, 
for  all  practical  purposes,  consider  the  whole  domain 
of  Syria  and  Palestine  as  the  proper  field  of  investigation 
for  survivals  of  ancient  Semitic  religious  customs.'^     The 

'2  Kings  V.  2-14. 

2  Daniel  Z.  Noorian  of  New  York,  trusted  dragoman  of  Rev. 
W.  Hayes  Ward,  LL.  D. 

*  Testimony  of  Rev.  J.  F.  Loba,  D.D.,  a  member  of  the  Depu- 
tation of  the  American  Board  to  India. 

*  There  are  many  well-attested  instances  of  barren  women 
having  children  after  the  performance  of  superstitious  rites. 

'George  Adam  Smith,  op.  cit.  pp.  10,  ii:  "The  population  of 
Syria  has  always  been  essentially  oemitic.     There  are  few  lands 


60  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

Sinaitic  Peninsula,  Arabia  Deserta,  the  entire  region  of 
Mesopotamia,  of  ancient  Babylonia,  and  of  Asia  Minor 
are  valuable  for  comparative  purposes.  But  the  chief 
seat  of  investigation  is,  after  all,  to  be  found  in  the 
country  known  as  Syria  and  Palestine,  so  far  as  we  desire 
to  find  apposite  illustrations  of  Semitic  usage  in  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments,  though  Asia  Minor  is  said  to  afford 
a  fruitful  field.  Such  usage  is  not  confined  to  the  Old 
Testament.  There  are  abundant  examples  in  the  New. 
The  demonology  which  we  find  there  resembles  strongly 
the  teaching  which  appears  among  modern  Arabs  con- 
cerning the  jinn,  nor  need  we  suppose  it  to  be  essen- 
tially different  from  the  beliefs  which  made  witchcraft 
possible  and  profitable  in  Old  Testament  times. 

In  all  these  studies  we  are  encroaching  on  the  larger 
domain  of  comparative  religion,  as  will  be  abundantly 
clear  from  the  comparison  of  any  good  book  on  the  sub- 
ject^ with  the  results  of  such  investigations.  But  there 
is  a  distinct  gain  in  limiting  our  researches  to  those  who, 
by  virtue  of  descent,  by  territory,  or  by  language,  may  be 
reckoned  as  Semites. 

However,  as  the  subject  has  been  suggested,  "Who 
are  the  modern  Semites?"  we  may  pursue  it  a  little 
farther,  remembering  that  anything  like  certainty  is 
impossible. 

In  northwestern  Syria  are  the  Nusairiyeh  and  Ismaili- 
yeh,  thought  by  many  to  be  descendants  of  the  ancient 
Canaanites.     An  intelligent  Syrian   has  suggested   that 

into  which  so  many  divers  races  have  come;  as  in  ancient  times 
Philistines  and  Hittites;  then  in  very  large  numbers,  Greeks;  then 
with  the  Crusades  a  few  hundred  thousand  Franks;  then  till  the 
present  day  more  Franks,  more  Greeks,  Turks,  Khurds,  and  some 
colonies  of  Circassians.  But  all  these  have  scarcely  even  been 
grafted  on  the  stock,  and  the  stock  is  Semitic." 

ijevons,  An  Introduction  to  the  History  of  Religion:  Frazer, 
op.  cit. 


MODERN    SEMITES  6 1 

they  are  of  the  ancient  Hittite  stock,  who  failed  to  be 
dislodged  from  their  mountain  fastnesses  by  the  storms  of 
invading  armies.'  Certain  it  is  that  when  they  had  once 
taken  their  place  in  their  mountains  no  foe  could  dis- 
lodge them,  nor  can  to-day,  until  roads  are  constructed 
by  the  government.  However,  in  general  terms,  we  may 
consider  them  as  of  the  ancient  Canaanitic  race,  but 
speaking  a  language  then,  as  they  speak  a  language  now, 
of  Semitic  origin.  Israel,  the  Phoenicians,  the  Philis- 
tines, the  Moabites,  Ammonites,  and  other  ancient 
Semites,  all  spoke  a  kindred  tongue^  as  is  the  case  with 
the  modern  Semitic  peoples  to-day. 

In  the  Syrian  Desert  and  in  northeastern  Syria  are  the 
Aramaeans.  Their  speech  is  still  preserved  in  the  ritual 
of  the  Jacobites,  of  the  Syriac  church,  of  the  Maronites, 
and  in  three  villages,  including  Malula,^  where  Syriac  is 
still  spoken.  These,  excepting  perhaps  the  Maronites, 
are  Semites.  Various  races  entering  Palestine  on  the  west- 
ern side  of  the  Jordan  have  caused  an  admixture  of  blood, 
and  the  introduction  of  foreign  elements,  which  no  man 
can  determine. 

It  has  been  suggested  by  a  writer  in  the  Encyclopaedia 
Britannica  on  the  Druses  that  they  may  be  of  Chinese 
extraction.*  It  is  a  singular  and  interesting  fact,  how- 
ever it  may  be  explained,  that  their  heaven  is  in  China, 
where  they  claim  to  have  a  thousand  cities.  When 
a  man  of  some  distinction  dies  among  them  there  is 
said    to    be    an    antiphonal    service    consisting     of     a 

'  Mr.  Jabur  of  Nebk. 

*Cf.  Stade,  Lehrbuch  der  Hebraischen  Grammatik,  Leipzig, 
1879,  pp.  1-22. 

H3r.  F.  J.  Bliss,  Malula  and  its  Dialect,  Palestine  Exploration 
Fund,  London,  1890,  pp.  74-98. 

*Mr.  H.  A.  Webster,  but  he  does  not  commit  himself  to  this 
view. 


62  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

chorega    and    chorus,    all    of    whom    are    women.      The 

leader  sings: 

"  Oh  man  who  has  been  a  chief  for  two  centuries, 
We  congratulate  the  people  of  China  on  receiving  your  soul." 

The  chorus  repeats  these  lines.^  This  is  curious,  and 
while  it  is  not  enough  to  prove  that  the  Druses  in 
Lebanon  and  in  the  Druse  Mountains  are  of  Chinese 
extraction,  it  seems  to  indicate  at  least  that  they  are  of 
foreign  elements. 

Nor  are  the  Syrians  of  pure  stock.  One  may  often 
see  fair  faces  and  golden  hair,  inclining  to  red,^  among 
the  children,  which  may  well  point  back  to  some  Crusad- 
ing sire.  It  is  certain  that  the  soldiers  from  Britain  and 
European  countries  who  could  not  return  and  who  did 
not  die  would  find  Syrian  wives;  hence  a  fair  skin  and  a 
cast  of  features  are  often  found  among  Syrians  which 
betray  a  European  origin. 

The  swarthy  inhabitants  of  the  Jaulan,  the  Hauran, 
of  Moab,  Edom,  and  the  South  Country  {Negeb),  even 
when  they  dwell  in  towns,  except  where  Circassians  have 
taken  their  place  among  certain  ruins,  betray  their  Arab 
origin.  But  from  whatever  loins  they  may  have  sprung, 
all  the  inhabitants  of  Syria  and  Palestine,  except  Protest- 
ant Christians,  who  have  been  mostly  shamed  out  of  the 
ancient  beliefs,  are  for  the  purposes  of  our  investigation, 
modern  Semites.  Even  in  towns  which  have  been  most 
fully  Europeanized  there  are  traces  of  ancient  supersti- 
tions and  usages  coming  down  from  primitive  Semitism. 

•This  and  other  information  about  the  Druses  was  given  me 
by  a  Syrian  physician  who  has  lived  among  them  and  is  a  graduate 
of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  at  Beirut. 

^Cf.  Sayce,  op.  cit.  p.  74;  George  Adam  Smith,  op.  cit.  p.  11. 
I  have  seen  such  fair  faces  and  golden  locks  in  many  parts  of  the 
country. 


CHAPTER   VI 

CONCEPTIONS  OF   GOD 

Dr.  W.  L.  Thompson,  of  the  American  Board/  says, 
that  "the  Tongas  have  a  hazy  idea  of  God,  as  the  first 
cause,  but  the  worship  of  spirits  and  ancestors  is  more 
of  a  power  in  their  lives."  ^ 

The  same  statement  is  true  of  those  modern  Semites 
who  have  not  been  affected  by  the  teaching  of  Islam,  or 
by  that  of  ancient  Christianity.  These  are  to  be  found, 
as  we  have  seen,  among  ignorant  peasants  in  Syria  and 
Palestine,  as  well  as  among  various  tribes  of  Arabs. ^ 

'Of  Mount  Silinda,  East  Central  African  Mission. 

2  Personal  interview,  Journal,  summer  of  1901. 

»While  the  words  Arab  and  Bedouin,  in  their  application, 
practically  mean  the  same  thing,  there  is  a  clear  difference  in 
signification  indicated  by  Lane  (see  his  Arabic-English  lexicon)  as 
well  as  in  usage.  Lane  defines  el-Arab  as  "Those  who  have 
alighted  and  made  their  abode  in  the  cultivated  regions,  and  have 
taken  as  their  homes  the  Arabian  cities  and  towns  or  villages, 
and  others  also  that  are  related  to  them  ....  an  appellation  of 
common  application  [to  the  whole  nation]  ....  [and  m  the  lexi- 
con ....  applied  to  the  desert  Arabs  of  pure  speech]."  Hence 
this  term  is  frequently  used,  not  only  of  those  Arabs  who  have 
begun  to  cultivate  the  fields,  but  also  of  those  who  live  in  towns. 
It  may  be  used  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  desert,  or  pure  nomads, 
but  not  exclusively  so.  On  the  other  hand,  Bedawi,  according  to 
the  same  eminent  authority,  signifies:  "Of,  or  belonging  to,  or 
relating  to,  the  bediu  or  desert:  and  used  as  a  subst.,  a  man, 
and  particularly  an  Arab  of  the  desert."  The  Bedouin  never  live 
in  towns,  never  cultivate  the  soil,  but  gain  their  livelihood  by 
raids;  and  they  regard  with  unspeakable  disdain  those  who  have 
forsaken  the  nomad  life  to  live  even  in  part  by  the  tillage  of  the 
soil.  The  term  Fe/hihitt,  which  signifies  ploughman,  is  used  of 
the  peasant  class.  It  is  among  the  Fellahin  and  the  Bedouin,  as 
least  affected  by  Islam  that  we  should  expect  the  largest  results  in 
these  investigations  with  respect  to  the  survivals  of  ancient 
Semitic  religion. 

63 


64  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

In  conducting  our  investigations  it  is  not  easy  to  dis- 
cover whether  the  conceptions  of  God,  which  exist  to-day 
among  them,  however  shadowy,  have  come  from  the 
instruction  of  Moslem  sheiks,  who  often  teach  the 
Bedouin,  at  least  for  a  brief  period,  the  tenets  of  Islam, ^ 
or  whether  we  have  the  same  phenomenon  among  them 
as  that  which  has  been  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Andrew 
Lang,  in  his  Making  of  Religion,^  where  the  worship  of 
God,  and  of  inferior  deities,  without  the  influence  of 
"positive  religion,"  ^  exists  side  by  side.  Nor  can  we 
determine  whether  the  conceptions  of  God,  now  found 
among  the  Bedouin,  are  evolutions  from  the  conditions 
of  tribal  life,  so  that  God  is  but  a  superhuman  sheik. 
This  is  a  domain  in  which  further  investigations  are 
necessary.  The  opinions  and  reports  of  travelers  are 
too  fragmentary  to  supply  adequate  data  for  an  induction. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  modern  Semite  does 
not  reason  with  respect  to  religious  matters.      By  nature, 

1  It  was  the  testimony  of  Habeeb  Yadji,  of  Mehardeh,  who  is 
remarkably  familiar  with  the  customs  of  the  Arabs  from  personal 
observation,  that  "  there  are  scarcely  any  religious  sheiks  among 
the  Bedouin.  If  they  have  no  religious  sheik  they  send  for  one  to 
attend  a  funeral.  He  has  seen  the  Arabs  come  to  Karyaten,  in 
the  Syrian  Desert,  for  such  a  sheik." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  chief  of  the  Rawaein,  a  small  tribe  that 
migrate  east  of  Palmyra,  affirm  that  "  every  body  of  Arabs  has  a 
religious  sheik."  Journal  XII.,  summer  of  1901.  This  latter 
statement  is  improbable.  Lady  Blunt,  Bedouin  Tribes  of  the 
Euphrates,  London,  1879,  Vol.  II.,  p.  217,  testifies:  "The  Shammar 
alone  of  all  the  noble  tribes  we  visited  possessed  a  moUah,  and 
his  duties  with  them  were  in  no  way  of  a  priestly  character." 

2  Pp.  178,  £f. 

3  W.  Robertson  Smith,  Lectures  on  the  Religion  of  the  Sem- 
ites, New  York,  1889,  p.  i:  "Judaism,  Christianity,  and  Islam  are 
positive  religions— that  is,  they  did  not  grow  up  like  the  systems 
of  ancient  heathenism,  under  the  action  of  unconscious  forces, 
operating  silently  from  age  to  age,  but  trace  their  origm  to  the 
teachings  of  great  religious  innovators,  who  spoke  as  the  organs  of 
a  divine  revelation,  and  deliberately  departed  from  the  traditions 
of  the  past." 


CONCEPTIONS   OF   GOD  6$ 

imaginative  and  impressionable,  his  ideas  regarding  the 
Divine  Being  are  rather  pictures  left  on  his  mind  than  the 
result  of  any  philosophical  reflection,  since  he  does  not 
philosophize.  He  is  not  at  all  affected  by  views  which 
are  inconsistent,  hence  mutually  exclusive.'  He  will 
admit,  that  according  to  the  tenets  of  Islam  he  should 
be  a  fatalist,  whose  life  cannot  be  prolonged  by  prayers, 
tears,  or  sacrifices;  one  day,  after  the  limit  decreed  has 
expired,  he  will  confess  his  belief  in  fatalism,  and  then 
will  justify  a  usage  entirely  inconsistent  with  such  a  belief 
by  naively  saying,  "This  is  according  to  the  simplicity 
of  our  minds."*  The  simplicity  of  the  Semitic  mind 
accounts  for  the  survival  of  ancient  customs  which  have 
been  handed  down  from  the  remotest  antiquity,  notwith- 
standing the  teachings  of  Islam  or  Christianity. 

To  the  Arab  or  Syrian,  custom  is  mightier  than  right; 
indeed  custom  is  the  only  right  he  knows.  Both  moral- 
ity and  religion  depend  upon  it.  The  heavens  might 
sooner  fall  than  custom  be  set  aside.  If  we  can  get  at 
the  usage  of  the  Semite  we  shall  know  what  his  religion  is. 

Another  principle  which  we  must  remember   is  deeply 

'  Palgrave,  Narrative  of  a  Year's  Journey  through  Central  and 
Eastern  Arabia,  London,  1865,  Vol.  I.,  p.  68:  "The  Arabs  are, 
generally  speaking,  rather  a  believing  than  a  religious  nation  .  .  .  . 
Men  who  readily  grant  an  abstract  belief  to  everything  are  not 
unlikely  to  reconcile,  in  a  practical  way,  the  many  contradictions 
thus  admitted  into  their  theory  by  acting  on  nothing.  Christian, 
Jewish,  Mahometan  or  Pagan  creeds  and  forms — the  Arab,  when 
left  to  himself,  does  not  see  why  they  should  not  all  be  equally 
true,  equally  estimable." 

2 The  Servant  of  the  "Chair,"  a  shrine  near  Zebedani,  which 
will  be  described  later,  after  saying,  "  Every  building  must  have 
its  death— man,  woman,  child,  or  animal.  God  has  appointed  a 
redemption  for  every  building  through  sacrifice.  If  God  has 
accepted  the  sacrifice  he  has  redeemed  the  house  "—added,  "  this 
is  according  to  the  simplicity  of  our  minds,  of  course  every  man 
dies  when  his  time  comes."  Journal  X.,  summer  of  igoi.  This 
expression  recurred  in  different  forms  a  number  of  times,  showing 
that  the  Arab  or  Syrian  was  conscious  of  the  contrast  between 
ancient  usage  and  the  tenets  of  Islam. 


66  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

ingrained  in  their  view  of  the  divine  as  well  as  the  human 
economy,  is  the  belief  that  might  makes  right.  In  the 
words  of  another,  "God  makes  right  by  edict."  ^  In 
the  same  category  belongs  the  conviction  that  God  can 
be  bought;  that  is,  that  he  is  bribable.  This  is  the 
experience  which  every  Oriental  has  had  of  human  gov- 
ernment, he  naturally  has  the  same  view  of  the  divine. 

From  the  foregoing  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  modern 
Semite  has  no  ethical  conception  of  God  as  holy,  or  as 
just,  hence  we  shall  find  that  his  views  of  sin  are  entirely 
deficient,  and  do  not  possess  a  moral  quality.  He  is  not 
afraid  to  take  God's  name  in  vain,  or  to  swear  falsely  by 
him,'^  or  to  use  it  in  the  most  shameful  connections.^  It 
is  certain  that  such  a  conception  of  God  has  no  power  to 
affect  the  life  of  the  Syrian  or  Bedouin.  Nor  need  we 
find  it  at  variance  with  the  representations  which  have 
been  given  of  him  by  most  travelers. 

It  may  well  be  that  Palgrave  is  right  when  he  claims 
that,  "A  general  belief  in  the  Supreme  Being,  author  of 
all,  and  ruler  of  all,  has  from  time  immemorial  prevailed 
throughout  Arabia. "  *  Nor  does  such  a  belief  serve  to 
cloud  their  hopes  of  the  future  life,  or  check  a  spirit  of 
cheerful  bravado,  when  brought  to  think  of  appearing 
before  a  God  who  is  neither  just  nor  holy.  Mr.  Henry 
G.  Harding,  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  for  twelve 

' "  The  Oriental  has  not  the  same  idea  of  abstract  right 
and  wrong  as  the  Occidental.  He  thinks  God  makes  right  and 
wrong  by  edict." — Interview  with  the  Rev.  George  E.  Post,  D.D., 
of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College,  Beirut,  Journal  IX.,  summer  of 
1900. 

2  Of  this  there  are  abundant  examples,  as  is  affirmed  every- 
where; and  see  Doughty,  Travels  in  Arabia  Deserta,  Cambridge, 
1888,  Vol.  I.,  p.  266. 

3  Lane,  An  Account  of  the  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Mod- 
ern Egyptians.     London,  1896,  pp.  286,  287. 

*0p.  cit.  Vol.  I.,  p.  249. 


CONCEPTIONS    OF   GOD  67 

years  missionary  in  the  East,  including  a  residence  in 
Tripoli,  Africa,  and  in  Kerak,  now  of  Gaza,  testifies  in 
the  same  strain:  "The  idea  of  God  is  very  vague,  but 
seems  to  be  mainly  an  enlarged  edition  of  a  Bedouin 
sheik;  that  is,  of  a  beneficent  but  capricious  despot.  I 
have  never  met  with  any  one  who  had  a  notion  of  the 
character  of  God."  '  "God  is  for  them  a  chief,  residing 
mainly,  it  would  seem,  in  the  sun,  with  which  indeed 
they  in  a  manner  identify  him  ....  somewhat  more 
powerful,  of  course,  than  their  own  head  man  .... 
but  in  other  respects  of  much  the  same  style  and  charac- 
ter. "=' 

Lady  Blunt's  characterization  of  the  Bedouin's  rela- 
tion to  God  gives  no  disclosure  of  him  as  a  just  or  holy 
being,  but  rather  as  one  possessed  of  superior  power:  "A 
belief,  then,  in  God  certainly  exists  among  the  Bedouins, 
though  the  only  active  form  of  it  is  a  submission  to  the 
Divine  will.  It  stands  in  singular  correspondence  with 
the  religion  of  the  ancient  patriarchs.  At  the  present 
day,  no  doubt,  it  is  but  a  vague  reflection  of  ancient 
faith,  and  depends  as  much  upon  custom  as  every  other 
belief  or  prejudice  of  the  Bedouin  mind."  ' 

Perhaps  an  exceptional  consciousness  of  sin  and  a 
religion  that  is  beautiful — and  it  would  almost  seem 
exceptional  among  the  sons  of  the  desert,  as  observed 
among  the  Towarah  in  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula — is  indi- 
cated in  some  Bedouin  prayers,  overheard  and  reported 
by  Professor  Palmer.  The  following  is  a  specimen  of 
one  at  sunset:  "O  Lord,  be  gracious  unto  us!  In  all 
that  we  hear  or  see,  in  all  that  we  say  or  do,  be  gracious 

'  From  answers  furnished  by  Mr.  Harding  to  questions,  winter 

of   IQOI. 

^  Palgrave,  ibid.  p.  33. 

'Lady  Anne  Blunt,  Bedouin  Tribes  of  the  Euphrates,  London, 
1879,  Vol.  IL,  p.  220. 


68  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO- DAY 

unto  us!  Have  mercy  upon  our  friends  who  have  passed 
away  before  us.  I  ask  pardon  of  the  great  God.  I  ask 
pardon  at  the  sunset,  when  every  sinner  turns  to  Him. 
Now  and  forever,  I  ask  pardon  of  God.  O  Lord,  cover 
us  from  our  sins,  guard  our  children,  and  protect  our 
weaker  friends!" 

Again,  at  sunrise,  they  pray:  "I  seek  refuge  with  the 
great  God  from  Satan  accursed  with  stones.  Deliver  me 
from  evil,  provide  for  me  and  for  my  brethren  the  faith- 
ful  O  Lord,  uncover  not  our  inmost  faults,  pro- 
tect our  children  and  our  weaker  friends.  O  Lord, 
provide  for  me.  Thou  who  providest  for  the  blind  hyena!" 

These  higher  and  better  conceptions  of  God  may  well 
have  been  inspired  by  the  teachings  of  Islam.  This 
seems  likely  from  the  formula  with  which  they  preface 
every  prayer:  "I  desire  to  pray  and  to  seek  guidance 
from  God;  for  good  and  pure  prayers  come  from  God 
alone.  Peace  be  upon  our  Lord  Abraham  and  our  Lord 
Mohammed."  *  Besides  they  are  able,  from  memory,  to 
recite  certain  sections  of  the  Koran,  as  I  was  assured,  at 
one  of  their  festivals.^ 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  among  the  majority  of  the 
Fellahin  and  Arabs  their  conceptions  of  God  have  been 
modified  by  their  habits  and  condition,  if  we  may  not 
affirm  that  they  have  been  derived  from  them.  Hence 
to  them  God  is  the  author  of  good  and  evil.'  No  sheik 
with  whom  they  have  had  to  do,  no  emir,  or  sultan,  of 
whom  they  have  ever  heard,  is  the  author  of  good  alone. 

'  The  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  New  York,  1872,  pp.  86,  87. 

'^Journal  IV.  spring  of  1899,  in  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula. 

^Lady  Blunt,  op.  cit.,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  216,  217:  "God  is  the  fate  to 
which  all  must  bow,  the  cause  of  the  good  and  of  the  evil  in  life 
....  of  the  fertility  of  their  flocks,  and  of  the  murrains  which 
sometimes  afflict  them."  The  Moslems  think  that  evil  is  directly 
from  the  Devil  by  the  permission  of  God.    Journal  X.  Nebk. 


CONCEPTIONS    OF   GOD  69 

This  is  an  old  Semitic  conception  which  we  find  illus- 
trated in  the  Old  Testament.  Job  says,  with  respect  to 
the  appalling  calamities  which  have  befallen  him  in  the 
loss  of  property  and  children,  "What?  shall  we  receive 
good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  shall  we  not  receive  evil?"  ' 
So  it  is  "an  evil  spirit  from  the  Lord"  that  troubles 
Saul.^  Thus  "The  anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against 
Israel,  and  he  moved  David  against  them,  saying,  go, 
number  Israel  and  Judah."  ^  The  same  fear  of  number- 
ing the  people  among  the  modern  Semites  is  partially 
chargeable  for  the  absence  of  any  correct  statistics  as  to 
the  population  of  Oriental  cities  and  towns.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  the  theology  of  later  Judaism  has 
amended  the  passage  to  read,  "And  Satan  stood  up 
against  Israel  and  moved  David  to  number  Israel."* 
Amos  speaks  from  the  old  point  of  view,  when  he  asks, 
"Shall  evil  befall  a  city,  and  the  Lord  hath  not  done 
it?"^ 

Closely  connected  with  this  is  the  thought,  that  God 
may  lead  astray.  Thus  Suleiman,  a  teacher  in  a  school 
of  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Church  in  Nebk,  who  made 
most  careful  investigations  for  me  during  more  than  two 
months,  interviewing  Moslems  and  Christians,  Fellahin 
and  Bedouin,  at  the  suggestion  of  Rev.  J.  Stewart  Craw- 
ford, said,  as  the  result  ot  many  interviews  with  many 
kinds  of  people:  "Their  view  is  that  God  is  the  creator 
of  heaven  and  earth,  the  maker  of  all  men,  the  giver  of 
good  to  all.  He  may  also  lead  astray.  The  ignorant 
know  up  to  this  point."  ®  This  is  evidently  a  survival 
of  an  ancient  Semitic  conception,  which  we  find  gives 
coloring    to    certain    Old    Testament    passages,    as    for 

'  Job  ii.  10.  ■*  I  Chron.  xxi.  i. 

*  I  Sam.  xvi.  14-16,  23;  xviii.  10.     'Amos  ill.  6. 

'2  Sam.  xxiv.  i.  'Journal  X.,  Syrian  Desert. 


70  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

example,    when    the   Lord   is    represented   as    saying  of 
Pharaoh:  "I  will  harden  his  heart,"  '  and   Isaiah  repre- 
sents God  as  bidding  him,  "Make  the  heart  of  this  people 
fat,  and  make  their  ears  heavy,  and  smear  their  eyes,  lest 
they  should  see  with  their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears, 
and  perceive  with  their  heart,  and  should  convert  and  be 
healed."^      I  do  not,  of  course,  believe  that  these  pas- 
sages teach   that    God   leads  man  astray,  but    they  are 
certainly  colored  by  this  idea.      Another  passage,  read 
literally,  expresses  the  view,  that  God  makes  the  enemies 
of   his   people    guilty — I  refer  to  Ps.  v.    ii.,  where  the 
psalmist  prays,  according  to  the  Hebrew  idiom,   "Make 
them  guilty,  O  God,"  which  the  Revisers  well  translate, 
"Hold  them  guilty,  O  God,"  or  perhaps  better,  "Declare 
them  guilty,  O  God"  ;  that  is,  "Let  them  suffer  the  con- 
sequences of  their  guilt."     We  have  an   illustration  of 
this   meaning  in    passages  parallel   to   God's   hardening 
Pharaoh's  heart,   where  it  is  said:  "Pharaoh  hardened 
his  heart. "  ^      But  the  thought  that  God  leads  man  astray 
is   original   in   the   Semitic   mind.      So   ingrained   is   the 
ancient   idea,  through    millenniums  of    oppression,   that 
any  one    in  power  is  responsible    for  the   failure   of    an 
inferior,  that  it  sometimes  appears  to-day  in  a  very  amus- 
ing way.     The  following  incident,  which  illustrates  this 
point,  came  under  my  notice  when   I  was  spending  five 
weeks  at  the   Syrian   Protestant  College  in   Beirut.      A 
student  failed  to  pass  his  examination  in   French.      He 
therefore  wrote  a  very  indignant  letter  to   the   French 
professor,  in  which  he  asked  the  question,  in  Arab-Eng- 
lish,  "Why  did  you  fail  me?"     By  this  he  did  not  mean, 
"Why  did  you  declare  that  my  examination  was  a  fail- 
ure?" but  "Why  did  you  cause  me  to  fail?"     This  was 

'  Ex.  iv,  21,  cf.  ix.  12,  X.  20,  27;  xi.  10;  xiv.  4,  8,  17. 
Ms.  vi.  9,  10.  ^Ex.  viii.  15,  32, 


CONCEPTIONS   OF   GOD  7I 

evidently  his  meaning  from  the  tenor  of  his  letter,  in 
which  he  claimed  that  he  had  done  excellent  work  in 
French.  The  belief  that  God  leads  men  astray  has  a 
very  important  bearing  on  their  notion  of  sin,  as  we  shall 
see,  when  we  come  to  consider  the  moral  relation  of  man 
to  God. 

The  people,  judging  from  experience,  regard  God  as 
a  jealous  being,  upon  whose  help  they  may  rely  at  any 
given  crisis  of  their  lives,  if  they  make  him  a  satisfactory 
present.  The  late  Rev.  John  Zeller,  for  more  than 
forty  years  missionary  in  Palestine,  who  knew  much  of 
the  working  of  the  native  mind,  said:  "The  sacrifice 
of  a  sheep  may  have  a  vicarious  character,  in  so  far  as  it 
is  thought  to  appease  a  jealous  God  who  is  not  willing 
to  have  any  one  too  prosperous."  '  It  seems  as  if  one 
of  the  earliest  representations  of  man's  approach  to  God 
was  through  a  gift,  as  that  is  the  proper  rendering  of 
viifiha,  the  term  used  to  describe  the  present  which  Cain 
and  Abel  are  represented  as  bringing  to  God.^  This  is 
the  simplest  conception  of  sacrifice.  They  bring  a 
present  to  God  as  a  man  would  bring  a  gift  to  an  emir, 
and  would  consider  it  "singularly  impertinent  to  go 
empty-handed."  ^  Men,  realizing  too  well  their  experi- 
ences with  earthly  potentates,  and  fearing  their  jealousy, 
bring  their  gifts.  It  is  this  ancient  idea  which  appears 
in  an  utterance  of  David,  when  he  has  a  parley  with 
Saul:  "If  it  be  the  Lord  that  hath  stirred  thee  up  against 
me,  let  him  smell  an  offering."*  The  account  of  the 
confusion  of  tongues  seems  almost  to  suggest  the  belief 
of  the  writer  that  God  was  jealous  because  of  an  achieve- 

'  Journal  VIII.  Jerusalem,  summer  of  1900. 

-Gen.  iv.  3,  4  (Hebrew). 

^  Interview  with  the  Rev.  G.  M.  Mackie,  D.D.,  Beirut,  Journal  X. 

*  I  Sam.  xxvi.  19,  Rev.  Ver.  Margin. 


72  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC   RELIGION   TO-DAY 

ment,  which  might  indicate  that  in  time  men,  if  permitted 
to  live  together  unchecked,  might  become  "too  pros- 
perous" and  endanger  the  supremacy  of  God  himself.' 
There  are  other  illustrations  of  the  same  conception  of 
God.  There  are  numerous  examples  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment which  show  that  the  ancient  writers  have  been  led 
in  their  choice  of  expressions  and  manner  of  representa- 
tion, by  beliefs  and  modes  of  thought  current  in  their 
times,  and  which  still  exist  among  Syrians  and  Bedouin 
to-day. 

There  seems  to  be  abundant  evidence  that  ignorant 
people  think  of  God  as  one  of  themselves,-  as  having  a 
human  organism.^  He  and  St.  George,  the  most  power- 
ful of  the  saints,  are  considered  by  some  as  brothers. 
The  implications  of  such  a  view  are  far-reaching,  as  we 
shall  see  when  I  come  to  speak  of  the  physical  relation 
of  man  to  God. 

We  have  Old  Testament  examples,  where  the  form  of 
the  narrative  has  been  borrowed  from  old  Semitic  ideas, 
although  the  truth  taught  has  not  been  dominated  by 
them.  Such  is  a  class  of  passages  which  are  not  ade- 
quately explained  by  affirming  that  they  are  anthropo- 

1  Gen.  xi.  6. 

2  Mr.  Henry  Harding,  made  the  following  statement:  "  Ordinary 
people  would  think  of  God  as  like  themselves.  They  would  ex- 
pect God  to  deal  with  them  as  they  would  deal  with  one  another. 
The  idea  of  God  is  very  vague.  The  welis  and  spirits  are  much 
nearer."    Journal  XHI.  Brummana,  summer  of  igoi. 

2  Suleiman,  the  Protestant  teacher  at  Nebk,  asked  a  man, 
"Who  is  God?"  Ans.  "The  existing  one."  "Has  he  eyes?" 
Ans.  "Certainly."  "Has  he  ears?"  Ans.  "Certainly."  There 
is  an  expression  in  Nebk,  if  a  man  is  very  tall,  that  he  can  reach 
to  certain  parts  of  the  body  of  the  deity.  Even  the  women  of  the 
same  place  will  say,  when  vexed,  "  Get  out,  for  the  sake  of  the 
back  parts  of  our  Lord!"  At  the  village  of  Dibbash  in  the  Nusai- 
rian  Mountains,  occupied  by  Greek  Christians,  we  were  told  that 
the  people  "think  of  God  as  made  in  the  image  of  man,"  Journal 
XI.  summer  of  1901. 


CONCEPTIONS   OF   GOD  73 

morphic;  they  are  really  more  than  that,  for  they  betray 
conceptions  of  God  at  a  stage  when  his  omniscience  and 
omnipresence  were  not  apprehended  in  any  such  sense  as 
other  writers  apprehend  them.  For  example,  God  is 
represented  in  one  of  the  most  ancient  Old-Testament 
documents  as  walking  in  the  garden  in  the  cool  of  a 
tropical  day,  the  safest  and  most  agreeable  time  for  man 
to  walk  abroad,  and  so  the  safest  time  for  God,  here 
conceived  of  by  the  writer  as  needing  to  avoid  the  burn- 
ing sun.  He,  too,  like  one  of  his  creatures,  needs  to  call 
the  man  who,  with  his  wife,  has  hidden  himself  among 
the  trees  of  the  garden,  else  He  might  not  find  him.' 
Most  antique  is  the  representation  of  God  smelling  the 
sweet  savor  of  Noah's  sacrifice,  and  pleased  as  much  as 
any  man  could  be  with  a  gift,  and  promising  in  his  heart, 
because  of  this  satisfaction,  that  he  will  not  curse  the 
ground  again  because  of  man.^  We  know  that  this  is  an 
ancient  Semitic  conception,  inasmuch  as  we  have  a  gro- 
tesque and  polytheistic  form  in  the  ancient  Babylonian 
tradition.^  But  it  is  also  clear  from  this  parallel  account, 
that  while  the  Jehovistic  writer  is  so  naive  in  his  descrip- 
tions, he  has  been  kept  by  the  Divine  Spirit  from  making 
unworthy  representations  of  God;  for  these  children's 
pictures  of  God  acting  like  a  man,  are  not  unworthy  of 
the  child  age  of  the  world.  Indeed,  they  are  wonderfully 
adapted  to  the  conceptions  of  that  age.     When  Jehovah 

•Gen.  iii.  8-10. 
^Gen.  viii.  21. 

^Parallel  Accounts  of  Noah's  Sacrifice. 

Babylonian  iii.  49-50.  Jehovistic  (Gen.  viii.  21). 

"The  gods  smelt  the  savor;  "And  the  Lord  smelled  the 

the  gods  smelt  the  good  savor;      sweet  savor." 
the    gods    Hke    flies    over    the 
sacrificer     gathered."      Sayce- 
Smith     Chaldean     Account    of 
Genesis,  New  York,  pp.  286,  287. 


74  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

goes  down  to  see  the  city  and  tower  of  Babel  on  a  visit 
of  inspection,'  or  when  he  proposes  to  make  a  personal 
examination  of  Sodom, ^  and  permits  Abraham  to  beat 
him  down,  as  if  they  were  on  the  same  plane,  just  as  is 
the  custom  in  Syria  at  the  present  day,  and  when  he 
suffers  Jacob  to  wrestle  with  him  all  night  until  the  break- 
ing of  the  morning,^  we  are  moving,  indeed,  in  the 
domain  of  ancient  Semitic  conceptions,  but  conceptions 
of  which  there  are  survivals  to-day. 

Some  may  be  inclined  to  put  the  words  of  Jotham's 
parable  in  a  different  category,  "Should  I  leave  my  wine 
which  cheereth  God  and  man?"  *  as  if  it  were  less  of 
the  essence  of  Scripture  than  the  passages  quoted.  But 
this  position  cannot  be  well  established,  for  there  are 
many  more  illustrations  which  might  be  cited  showing 
how  certain  institutions  go  back  to  human  conceptions 
of  God,  as  for  example,  "the  shewbread  that  was  taken 
from  before  the  Lord  to  put  hot  bread"  in  its  place. ^ 
Such  bread,  according  to  the  Priests'  Code,  was  placed 
on  a  table,  for  God  was  conceived  of  as  humanlike, 
having  a  table.''  The  sixteenth  psalm  indicates  that 
there  are  "drink  offerings  of  blood"  which  the  heathen 
god  was  thought  of  as  drinking.  With  reference  to  these 
representations  of  God  as  a  man  with  a  man's  appetites, 
the  psalmist  quotes  him  as  saying  in  another  place: 
"Will  I  eat  the  flesh  of  bulls  or  drink  the  blood  of  goats?" 

We  may  be  sure  that  in  the  conceptions  of  God,  which 
the  ignorant  Arab  or  Fellahin  entertains  to-day,  we  have 
men  at  the  same  stage  as  when  God  began  to  reveal 
himself  in  terms  which  the  childhood  of  the  ancient 
Semites  could  understand. 

'  Gen.  xi.  5.  *Judg.  ix.  13. 

^Gen.  xviii.  20,  21.  ^  i  Sam.  xxi.  16. 

•Gen.  xxxii.  24-30.  ^  Ex.  xxv.  30. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE   LOCAL   DIVINITIES 

Among  most  sects  of  Moslems  and  Christians,  includ- 
ing Bedouin  as  well  as  Syrians,  the  worship  of  saints 
exists.  In  the  popular  imagination  they  exercise  a 
power  far  above  that  of  God.  Men  fear  lightly  to 
break  oaths  made  at  their  shrines,  or  to  use  obscene 
language,  so  prevalent  in  the  East,  when  going  into 
their  presence.^ 

It  is  true  that  orthodox  Moslems  insist  that  the  saints 

are  only  mediators,  that  the  worshiper  asks  his  weli    to 

intercede  for  him  with  God,^  but  this  is  not  the  type  of 

religion  as  it  is  found  among  the  ignorant,  whose  usage 

corresponds    most    closely    to    that    of    antiquity.     The 

antinomy  between  doctrine  and  practice  came  out  in  a 

conversation  with  a  religious  sheik,  an  orthodox  Moslem, 

at   Nebk,  in  the   Syrian  desert,  about  vows,  concerning 

which  he  said :  "If  a  vow  is  made,  it  is  made  to  God,  not 

to  the  saint,  but  it  is  made  by  the  grave  of  the  saint,  to 

honor  him  and  to  please  God However,  a  simple 

person  would  say,  that  the  vow  was  given  to  the  weli, 

thus    making    him    a    lord,  which    is    an    error.      I    am 

an  educated    person,    therefore     I    give    you    the    right 

account."  ^ 

'"They  are  very  particular  on  the  road  (to  the  shrine)  not  to 
speak  foul  language."  Journal  XI.  Behammra  anaong  tlie  Nu- 
sairiyeh,  summer  of  iqgi. 

'Cf.  my  article,  "Ancient  Shrines  in  northern  Syria,"  The 
Independent,  Vol.  L.,  p.  1448,  "  God  is  almighty  .  .  .  I  ask  the  weli, 
and  the  weli  asks  Gocl."  The  same  idea  was  brought  out  in  other 
interviews  with  Moslems. 

'Journal  X.,  Nebk,  summer  1901, 

75 


76  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC   RELIGION   TO-DAY 

The  general  designation  used  among  the  Christians 
for  these  beings  who  are  practically  treated  as  divine, 
is  the  Aramaic  word,  mar  (lord,  or  saint),  while  that 
used  among  Moslems  is  lueli  (which  signifies  protector, 
patron,  nearest  of  kin).  In  the  Arabic  version  of  the 
American  Press,  Job  appeals  to  God  as  his  weli,  to  be 
his  avenger,'  and  Ruth  confides  in  Boaz,  as  her  weli  or 
nearest  of  kin,  who  is  under  obligations  by  that  relation- 
ship to  marry  her.'^ 

In  the  Koran  the  term  weli  is  used  many  times,  both 
in  the  singular  and  plural.  It  is  almost  always  trans- 
lated by  Professor  Palmer  as  "patron."  The  singular  is 
mostly  applied  to  God.  Thus  we  read:  "God  is  the 
patron  of  those  who  believe,"  '  or  "of  the  believers."* 
The  taking  of  other  patrons  besides  God  is  condemned 
in  the  strongest  terms.  There  is  no  place  in  all  this 
teaching  for  the  worship  of  the  welis,  and  there  is  good 
reason  for  the  opposition  to  their  worship  on  the  part  of 
the  Wahabites,  the  most  orthodox  sect  of  Islam,  who 
sought  as  resolutely  to  crush  out  the  sacred  shrines^  as 
King  Josiah  attempted  to  stamp  out  the  worship  of  the 

'  Job  xix.  25.  )  In  both  these  passages  weli  is  used  in  the  Arabic 
*  Ruth  iii.  12.  )      version  as  the  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  ^^<?/. 

»ii.  258, 
*iii.  61. 

"Burckhardt,  Notes  on  the  Bedouin  and  Wahabys,  London, 
1830,  pp.  280,  281. 

"  The  Wahabys  declared  that  all  men  were  equal  in  the  eyes 
of  God;  that  even  the  most  virtuous  could  not  intercede  with  him; 
and  that  it  was  consequently  sinful  to  invoke  departed  saints,  and 
to  honor  their  mortal  remains  more  than  those  of  any  other  per- 
sons. Wherever  the  Wahabys  carried  their  arms  they  destroyed 
all  the  domes  and  ornamented  tombs;  a  circumstance  which  served 
to  inflame  the  fanaticism  of  their  disciples,  and  to  form  a  marked 
distinction  between  them  and  their  opponents.  .  .  .  The  destruc- 
tion of  cupolas  and  tombs  of  saints  became  the  favorite  taste  of 
the  Wahabys." 


THE    LOCAL    DIVINITIES  "JJ 

high  places.'  In  the  call  to  prayer  we  were  told  that 
ulia,  the  plural  of  weli,  is  used,^  but  this  seems  most 
unlikely,  certainly  in  the  sense  of  "patrons." 

The  term  mar  is  employed  among  the  Christians  as  a 
title,  St.  George  being  known  in  Syria  as  Mar  Jirjis,  but 
the  Moslems  designate  their  saints  by  the  special  term 
of  nebi  (prophet),  if  they  may  be  considered  Biblical 
characters,  or  as  sheik,  if  they  belong  to  post-Biblical 
times.  The  term  well  is  general,  and  applies  both  to  the 
saint  and  to  his  tomb. 

These  saints  are  really  departed  spirits,  connected 
with  some  particular  shrine,  chosen  because  they  revealed 
themselves  there  in  times  past,  and  where  they  are  wont 
to  reveal  themselves  now  to  those  who  seek  their  favor. 

While  our  previous  examination  shows^  that  the 
Semitic  conception  of  God  to-day  degrades  him,  that 
which  we  are  about  to  make  concerning  the  saint  will 
prove  that  he  is  exalted  to  the  place  of  deity,  at  least 
among  the  ignorant. 

We  must  recognize  a  close  connection  between  the 
ordinary  spirit  of  the  departed  and  that  of  the  saint  who 
is  supposed  to  possess  superior  sanctity  and  power. 
Indeed  we  shall  find  that  conceptions  which  might  be 
held  with  respect  to  the  disembodied  spirit  are  held  of 
the  saint  and  may  be  held  of  God. 

Frazer  has  well  said:  "The  notion  of  a  man-god,  or 
of  a  human  being  endowed  with  divine  or  supernatural 
powers,  belongs  essentially  to  that  earlier  period  of  reli- 
gious history  in  which  gods  and  men  are  still  viewed  as 
beings  of  much   the  same  order,  and  before  they  are 

'  2  Kings  xxiii.  8-13. 

2 "In  the  regular  call  to  prayer  there  is  a  mention  of  all  the 
ulia,  first  the  Prophet,  then  all  the  other  prophets,  then  the  ulia." 
Journal  XI.,  Mehardeh,  summer  of  igoi. 

« P.  72. 


78  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

divided  by  the  impassable  gulf,  which  to  later  thought, 
opens  out  between  them."  '  Such  a  notion  still  exists 
among  the  most  ignorant  of  the  modern  Semites,  and  the 
impassable  gulf  has  not  yet  been  fixed  between  them. 

It  is  evident  from  an  examination  of  numerous  pas- 
sages in  the  Koran,  where  the  term  well  is  used  as  relating 
to  God,  that  an  application  of  the  term  well  to  a  saint, 
as  has  been  suggested,  is  contrary  to  the  Koran^  and  to 
Moslem  law;'  but  even  good  Moslems  affirm  that  a  man 
who  does  not  believe  in  a  weli  does  not  believe  in  God.* 
There  are  also  said  to  be  ascriptions  of  praise  rendered 
to  the  welis,  among  the  Nusairiyeh,  a  heretical  sect,  far 
beyond  those  rendered  to  God.^ 

Every  shrine,  of  whatever  sort,  theoretically  presup- 
poses a  weli  or  saint.  He  may  have  lived  within  the 
memory  of  the  generation  that  does  him  honor,  and 
many  tales  may  have  been  preserved  in  regard  to  him. 
Or  he  may  be  a  mythical  character  about  whom  a  pro- 
fusion of  folk-lore  has  sprung  up.  It  may  be  that  he  has 
little  objective  existence  in  the  thought  of  the  people 
beyond  his  name  and  shrine.  They  cannot  tell  much 
regarding  his  life  and  his  achievements.  Indeed  there 
is  sometimes  a  clear  indication  of  skepticism  on  the  part 

'The  Golden  Bough,  London,  1900,  Vol.  I.,  p.  130. 

2  See  Fliigel,    Concordantiae  Corani  Arabicae,  Lipsiae,   1842, 

sub  voce. 

^Journal,  Hama,  summer,  1901:  "  There  rises  before  the  com- 
pany, when  they  arrive  at  the  shrine,  one  who  recites  a  poem.  The 
subject  of  the  poem  is  praise  to  God,  or  the  Prophet,  or  the  weli. 
The  praise  of  the  weli  is  a  very  prominent  part  of  it.  But  this  is 
all  contrary  to  Mohammedan  law."  Cf.  Burckhardt,  Notes  on  the 
Bedouin  and  Wahabys,  London,  1830,  p.  279. 

*  Declaration  of  a  Moslem  peasant,  Journal  XL,  Nebk, 

^Rev.  James  S,  Stewart  of  Ladikiyeh,  testifies:  "  I  have  read 
in  their  books  (of  the  Nusairiyeh)  ascriptions  of  glory  and  praise 
greater  than  any  they  ascribe  to  God." 


SHRINE  OF  AARON  ON  MOUNT  HOR. 


THE    LOCAL   DIVLNITIES  79 

of  the  people  with  respect  to  the  origin  of  such  shrines.' 
But  to  the  heated  imaginations  of  some  of  their  servants, 
they  appear  in  bodily  form.^  Theoretically  they  are 
worshiped  in  connection  with  the  God  of  all  the  world; 
practically  many  people  know  no  other  god.  In  this 
respect  the  worship  of  the  saints  is  like  that  of  the  an- 
cient Baalim.  They  are  the  deities  whom  the  people 
fear,  love,  serve,  and  adore. 

Remembering  that  the  saints  are  spirits,  once  living, 
we  shall  find  it  of  interest  to  consider  some  of  the  ways 
in  which  they  reveal  themselves.  One  of  the  most 
famous  shrines  is  that  of  Aaron  on  Mount  Hor. 
Whether  his  body  was  ever  buried  on  that  height  which 
tradition  assigns  to  him  is  of  no  moment  in  this  investi- 
gation. As  will  be  seen  from  the  following  dialogue 
with  Musa,  an  Arab  guide  at  Petra,  it  is  evident  that 
Aaron  is  thought  of  as  having  existence,  and  as  coming 
to  his  shrine  during  two  days  of  the  week : 

Question.    Is  there  a  yearly  festival? 

Answer.    No. 

Q.    Why  do  the  people  visit  the  prophet's  tomb? 

A.    Because   he  is  a  great  prophet,  out  of    honor  to 

him. 

'See  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Jessup,  D.D.  The  Women  of  the  Arabs, 
London,  1874,  pp.  269-272. 

2  Sheik  Yusepli  el-hagg,  of  Nebk,  says,  with  respect  to  the 
saint  who  has  charge  of  the  streams  at  Nebk,  and  whose  name  is 
Mohammed  e!-Ghuffary, that  he  appears  in  various  forms:  "Some- 
times as  an  old  man,  sometimes  as  a  young  man  in  white,  but 
always  in  human  form;  some  see  him  at  night,  others  see  him  by 
day,  some  see  him  in  dreams,  only  those  who  have  the  light  in 
their  hearts  see  him." 

Another  Moslem,  by  the  name  of  Abu  Ali,  from  the  same  vil- 
lage, who  works  himself  at  times  into  a  frenzy,  and  sometimes 
makes  a  frightful  noise  when  engaged  in  prayer,  testified:  "  I  have 
seen  his  spirit  because  I  love  the  saint  and  he  loves  me.  He 
appears  to  me  by  day  and  by  night  like  a  middle-aged  man 
wearing  a  green  robe.  I  speak  to  him  and  we  converse  together." 
Journal  X.,  Nebk,  summer  of  igoi. 


8o  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

Q.  What  benefits  do  they  expect  to  receive  from 
such  a  visit? 

A.  If  any  one  has  a  son  or  friend  ill,  he  goes  and 
asks  the  prophet  to  intercede  for  him  [with  God]  and 
promises  in  case  of  recovery  to  visit  the  tomb  once  a  year, 

Q.  Do  they  vow  they  will  give  the  prophet  anything 
in  case  of  recovery? 

A.  Yes;  it  is  not  necessary  that  they  should  go  to 
the  top  of  the  mountain  to  make  a  vow.  They  may  pile 
up  a  heap  of  stones  anywhere  in  sight  of  the  mountain, 
as  a  witness  [mesAAad].'^  They  may  kill  the  animal  they 
have  vowed  anywhere. 

Q.  Do  they  consider  the  animals  they  have  vowed, 
and  which  they  eat,  sacrifices? 

A.    Yes. 

Q.  How  can  they  be  sacrifices  when  they  eat  them? 
Does  the  prophet  partake  of  them?  ^ 

A.  The  prophet  is  dead,  how  could  he  eat  of  them? 
We  would  not  throw  them  away  after  we  had  killed 
them.^ 

Q.    Is  the  prophet  dead? 

A.  Prophets  never  die.  The  prophet  [Aaron]  is 
alive  to-day.     We  ask  him  to  intercede  for  us. 

Q.  Do  the  people  ever  make  any  use  of  the  blood  of 
the  sacrifice? 

A.    No,  they  throw  it  away. 

Q.  Why  do  the  people  put  semn  [Arab  butter]  in  the 
lower  room  of  the  shrine? 

1  These  heaps  of  witness  (Cf.  Gen.  xxxi.  48)  are  very  common 
in  sight  of  shrines  which  are  difficult  of  access, 

2  This  question  was  asked  to  see  if  there  was  any  trace  of  the 
critical  theory  that  God  is  the  host  at  sacrificial  meals.  Musa  did 
not  seem  to  conceive  of  the  Prophet  Aaron  in  any  such  capacity. 

^This  is  certainly  a  very  important  statement  in  connection 
with  the  use  made  of  the  flesh  in  sacrifices,  and  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  the  sacrifice  does  not  consist  in  eating  it. 


THE    LOCAL   DIVINITIES  8 1 

A.  It  is  customary  to  have  a  lamp  burning  Thurs- 
days and  Fridays,  so  they  use  semn  for  this  purpose. 

Q.  Why  is  the  light  burning  only  on  Thursdays  and 
Fridays? 

A.  Our  books'  say  that  the  prophet  comes  only  on 
Thursday  and  Friday.  The  rest  of  the  time  he  is  with 
his  brother  Moses,  and  with  their  friend  [God].  He 
comes  down  only  on  these  two  days.^ 

The  alleged  birthplace  of  Abraham  at  Berzeh,  near 
Damascus,  affords  Moslems  a  reason  for  seeking  the 
patriarch,  by  vows  and  prayers,  as  the  place  of  his  reve- 
lation, since  his  mother  is  said  to  have  given  him  birth 
in  a  hole  of  the  rock.  She  remained  with  him  three 
days,  and  then  putting  his  finger  in  his  mouth,  left  him. 
There  he  abode,  according  to  the  legend,  seven  years. 
The  shrine,  which  affords  a  dwelling  for  the  minister  on 
the  same  court,  is  especially  interesting,  because  on  a 
sheet  of  paper  posted  on  the  wall,  all  visitors  who  are  in 
trouble  are  invited  to  make  known  their  sorrows  to  the 
weli.  "Advice  to  people  who  visit  this  place,  where  is 
Abraham,  father  of  Isaac,  the  sacrificed,  the  grandfather 
of  the  prophets!  Come,  tell  him  all  your  adversities  and 
hardships,  and  he  will  help  you."^  It  will  be  noticed 
that  nothing  is  suggested  as  to  his  intercession  with  God 
for  them.  The  people  are  bidden  to  come  to  him  as  the 
sole  source  of  their  comfort. 

Of  quite  another  sort  is  the  weli  at  an  ancient  plat- 

'  Unlettered  Moslems  frequently  refer  to  their  books  for  state- 
ments which  they  make.  As  they  cannot  read,  the  allusion  tu  such 
books  must  be  taken  with  a  great  deal  of  allowance.  Friday  is  the 
Moslem  Sunday,  hence  a  favorite  day  for  saints  to  visit  their 
shrines. 

^Journal  VIII.,  Petra,  summer  of  igoi. 

^  This  was  translated  by  Rev.  Anis  Nasif  Sellumof  Damascus, 
into  Arab-English,  which  I  have  retained.  Journal  XII.,  Berzeh, 
summer  of  1901. 


82  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

form,  surrounded  by  several  acres  of  oak-trees,  known 
as  the  "Mother  of  Pieces"  {Uvim  Shakakif).  It  was  my 
good  fortune  to  learn  the  story  of  this  shrine  for  the  first 
time,  and  in  two  forms,  one  in  poetry,  from  the  servant 
of  another  shrine,  about  an  hour  and  a  quarter  south,  the 
other  in  prose  from  the  servant  of  the  shrine  itself. 
Both  are  interesting  specimens  of  folk-lore.  I  give  the 
former  here  as  briefer,  reserving  the  one  in  prose  for 
Appendix  D. 

The  story  goes  that  there  were  four  maidens,  each  of 
whom  was  under  the  protection  of  a  particular  saint. 
The  heroine  of  the  shrine  was  known,  according  to  one 
story,  as  'Arja,  or  the  lame  one;  according  to  the  other, 
as  Fatima.  She  was  lame,  blind  of  an  eye,  bald,  poor, 
and  almost  naked.  Accompanied  by  her  three  friends 
she  went  to  the  fountain  to  draw  water,  where  the  four 
saints,  the  respective  patrons  of  these  girls,  were  seated. 
Each  of  'Arja's  companions  let  down  her  water-jar,  in 
turn,  and  it  came  up  full  of  water,  and  each  set  out  on 
her  way  home.  When  'Arja  had  lowered  her  jar,  instead 
of  coming  up  brimming,  she  drew  up  only  the  handles. 
Her  patron,  whom  she  had  served  faithfully,  had  shat- 
tered it.  Urged  to  desert  him  and  choose  another,  she 
affirmed  her  unalterable  fidelity  to  him.  Touched  by 
her  devotion,  he  bade  her  give  him  the  handles.  In  a 
tew  moments  she  drew  up  her  jar,  more  beautiful  than 
ever,  full  of  water.  On  this  the  following  dialogue  took 
place: 

Saint  to  'Arja.    Go  join  your  companions. 

'Arja.    I  am  your  servant,  you  see  I  am  lame. 

He  healed  her. 

Saint.    Go  join  your  companions. 

'Arja.    I  am  your  servant,  you  see  I  am  blind. 

He  cured  her. 


THE    LOCAL    DIVINITIES  83 

Saint.    Go  join  your  companions. 

'Arja.    I  am  your  servant,  you  see  I  am  bald. 

He  gave  her  long  hair. 

Saint.    Go  join  your  companions. 

'Arja.    I  am  your  servant,  you  see  I  am  naked. 

He  clothed  her. 

Saint.    Go  join  your  companions. 

'Arja.    I  am  your  servant,  you  see  I  am  poor. 

Saint.  Raise  up  the  carpet,  and  you  will  find  silver 
and  gold. 

She  did  so. 

Thus,  through  her  obedience  and  faith,  a  poor,  blind, 
bald,  and  lame  girl  became  the  object  of  worship,  and 
the  place  where  she  is  reputed  to  be  buried  is  still  the 
place  of  blessing.  Vows  are  made  of  jars  of  pottery, 
which  are  broken  on  the  ancient  platform. 

In  direct  contrast  with  the  legends  which  have  grown 
up  around  the  "Mother  of  Pieces"  is  a  Druse  Shrine, 
about  two  and  a  half  hours  west  of  Rasheya,  known  as 
Nebi  Safa.'  While  they  say  that  the  Prophet  Safa  is 
descended  from  Jacob,  and  that  his  people  lived  in  the 
direction  of  Jerusalem  and  Hebron,  they  do  not  know 
how  he  came  to  be  there,  or  to  die  there.  "The  honor- 
able body  is  there,  and  the  spirit  is  always  to  be  found 
there.  Any  day  that  a  man  seeks  him  he  will  find  him, 
it  depends  on  his  faith."  The  people  charged  with  the 
care  of  the  shrine  could  tell  wonderful  stories,  indicating 
the  exercise  of  supernatural  powers,  but  nothing  shed- 
ding any  real  light  on  the  history  of  the  one  exercising 
them. 

The  most  famous  saint  in  the  Christian  calendar  is  St. 
George,  or  Mar  Jirjis,  who  killed  the  dragon  at  Beirut, 
after  whom  the  bay  is  named.     The  monastery  is  said  to 

'Journal  XIII.,  Nebi  Safa,  summer  1901. 


84  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

be  placed  on  the  spot  where  St.  George  used  to  reveal 
himself.*  He  is  known  among  the  various  sects  of 
Islam  as  Khuddr.  While  his  most  famous  shrine  is 
near  Kalat  el  Hosn,  west  of  Homs  and  near  Safita,  in 
northern  Syria,  he  is  associated  with  more  places  than  any 
other  saint.  His  shrines  are  found  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  both  in  buildings  originally  erected  for  him  as 
well  as  in  ancient  Greek  churches  in  the  Druse  Moun- 
tains,^ which,  during  their  occupation  by  Christians,  may 
have  been  sacred  to  the  worship  of  St.  George.  At  each 
of  these  shrines  there  is  a  tomb,  or  the  representation  of 
one,  and  at  all  these  he  is  thought  to  reveal  himself. 

Such  a  self-revelation  of  the  saints  also  takes  place  in 
connection  with  sacred  stones.^  These  stones  are  not 
of  the  sort  with  which  one  troubled  with  any  ailment 
rubs  his  back  or  head,*  in  which  case  they  are  used  as 
charms,  and  are  supposed  to  belong  to  some  saint,  as  at 
Berzeh ;  nor  are  they  of  the  same  sort  as  at  the  shrine  of 
St.  Rih,  which  is  reverenced  by  all  sects,  where  there  is 
a  round  stone  like  a  heavy  ring,  weighing  five  or  six 
pounds — large  enough  to  go  over  the  wrist.  The  saint, 
by  means  of  this  stone,  manifests  his  power.  There  are 
two  pillars,  between  which  a  bastard  cannot  pass,^  at 
Ezra  in  the  Hauran,  and  upright  stones,  between  which 
bridal  couples  must  walk,  as  at  a  village   in   the   Druse 

^Journal  I.,  Safita,  autumn  of  1898. 

2  Journal  VI.,  Negran,  Tell  Shaf,  Smed.,  summer  of  1900. 

^  Among  the  Tongas  there  is  a  "natural  stone  about  nine  feet 
high,  called  the  stone  that  is  not  to  be  pointed  at;  people  would  not 
point  at  it  on  any  account."  Journal  X.,  W.  L.  Thompson,  M,  D., 
spring  of  1901. 

*  Journal  XL,  Hamath,  summer  of  1901:  "At  Sheik  Mustafa,  in 
the  center  of  the  makam,  is  a  stone  made  smooth  by  rubbing.  The 
sick  man  uses  it  for  his  back.  He  does  not  vow  to  it  but  to  the 
weli.  The  stone  belongs  to  the  weli,  he  is  not  in  it.  God  blesses  it." 

^Journal  XIIL,  Mr.  Faris  L.  Khuri,  Damascus,  summer  of 
1901. 


< 


< 


THE   LOCAL   DIVINITIES  85 

Mountains/    and    stones    which    receive    the    sacrificial 
blood,  as  in  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula.^ 

The  stones  used  in  healing  are  evidently  not  regarded 
as  the  places  where  the  saints  reveal  themselves,  but 
there  are  others  which  are  more  or  less  clearly  considered 
as  being  the  place  of  divine  revelation.  Abu  Ali,  a 
devout  Moslem,  said: 

"No  one  knows  where  the  saints  really  are,  but  they 
know  where  they  have  appeared.  There  is  a  saint  who 
appears  near  my  house;  his  name  is  Abu  Zed.  At  Asal 
there  is  a  stone,  into  which  my  own  patron  saint  entered. ' ' 

"At  Sphene,  in  northern  Syria,  there  is  a  Maronite 
shrine  of  Mar  Yehanna,  which  consists  only  of  an  ancient 
stone,  about  three  feet  high  by  fourteen  inches  wide, 
in  the  shape  of  a  panel,  standing  on  a  hill  under  a  grove, 
near  a  modern  church.  The  other  sides  are  triangular. 
[It  is  probably  part  of  the  lid  of  a  sarcophagus]."  A 
man  said  of  the  remains  of  incense  which  were  in  front 
of  the  stone,  that  the  incense  had  been  offered  to  the 
weli.  His  e.xpression  seemed  to  indicate  that  he  regarded 
the  weli  as  residing  in  the  stone. 

"At  Karyaten,  the  last  outpost  for  travelers  making 
the  journey  to  Palmyra  ....  in  the  vineyard,  at  the 
rear  of  the  house  of  the  governor  of  the  town,  known  as 
Feiyad,  is  a  prostrate  pillar,  by  the  side  of  which,  about 
midway  and  close  against  it,  is  a  structure  of  mud  about 
the  size  and  shape  of  a  straw  beehive;  in  the  side  of  this 
is  a  small  hole,  where  the  vessel  is  placed  in  which  the 
oil  that  has  been  vowed  is  burned,  when  a  vow  is  paid. 
The  shrine  consisting  in  this  pillar  is  called  by  the 
Moslems  Abu  Risha,  and  by  the  Christians  Mar  Risha. 

"  Private  letter  from  Mr.  Henry  C.  Harding,  Kerak,  winter  of 
1901. 

*  Palmer,  The  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  New  York,  1872,  p.  218. 


86  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

It  is  in  honor  of  a  saint  of  the  sect  of  the  Jacobites. 
The  pillar  is  thought  by  the  Syrian  priest  to  mark  the 
site  of  an  ancient  church.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  low 
wall,  leaving  an  inclosure  about  twenty  feet  square. 
The  practices  in  making  a  vow  and  in  payment  of  it 
among  the  Moslems  and  Christians  are  the  same.  They 
come  to  the  shrine  and  make  their  request;  they  also  tie 
red  and  blue  silk  around  the  weeds  in  the  inclosure  as 
a  sign  to  the  saint  that  they  want  help.  Payment,  as 
has  been  intimated,  is  made  in  oil,  which  is  burned  at  the 
altar.  "^ 

Here,  then,  is  a  sacred  stone,  part  of  the  ruin  of  an 
ancient  church,  which  is  revered  by  ignorant  Moslems, 
and  Christians  as  a  well. 

At  Sheik  Sa'd,  near  el-Merkez,  the  capital  of  the 
Hauran,  is  a  Moslem  place  of  prayer;  in  it,  just  in  front 
of  the  prayer  niche,  is  the  Well  Sakhret  Eyyub,  or  Shrine 
of  the  Rock  of  Job,  seven  feet  high  and  about  four  feet 
wide.  It  is  a  monument  of  Ramses  II.,  has  a  represen- 
tation of  his  head  in  the  right  hand  upper  corner  and  an 
inscription  in  hieroglyphics.  It  is  significant  that  it  is 
in  front  of  the  prayer  niche.  Here  is  undoubtedly  a  case 
of  syncretism,  of  Moslem  and  ancient  Semitic  worship 
combined.  Unfortunately  .this  is  a  theory,  which  did 
not  occur  to  me  at  the  time  when  I  visited  Sheik  Sa'd, 
and  which  there  was  no  opportunity  to  put  to  the  test, 
but  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  natives  regard  it  as  a 
sacred  stone.  There  can  be  no  question  that  such  a 
stone,  in  such  a  position,  would  be  considered  by  the 
ignorant  Moslem  as  the  dwelling  place  of  a  weli.'^ 

•See  my  article,  "Ancient  Shrines  in  Northern  Syria,"  The 
Independent,  Vol.  L.,  pp.  1448,  1449- 

^Journal  V.  El-Merkez,  summer  of  1899.  Cf.  Dr.  Schumacher, 
Zeitschrift  des  Deutschen  Palastina-Vereins,  Vol.  XV.,  p.  I47:  ."  I 
therefore  assume  that  the  present  building  over  the  Sachrat  Ejub 


THE    ROCK   OF   JOB   AT   SHKIK    S.\    I). 


THE    LOCAL   DIVINITIES  87 

The  most  conscious  example  of  the  survival  of  the 
ancient  worship  of  rocks  or  stones,  as  the  abodes  of 
spirits,  is  found  in  the  popular  belief  of  ignorant  Moslems 
that  a  well  resides  in  the  "Rock  Chair"  {Kalat  el-Kursi) 
or  "Chair  of  the  Companions"  {Kursi  el-Aktab).  While 
those  who  are  more  orthodox  say  that  the  companions  of 
the  Prophet  Mohammed  come  on  Fridays,  and  find  their 
abode  in  a  room  which  the  servant  of  the  shrine  has 
never  seen,  the  ignorant  believe  that  they  are  to  be  found 
in  the  rock  itself.' 

There  are  quite  a  number  of  passages  in  the  Old 
Testament,  notably,  though  not  exclusively,  in  the  thirty- 
second  chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  where  "rock"  is  as 
much  a  term  for  God  as  El  or  Elohim.^  These  two  last 
terms  belonged  to  other  branches  of  the  Semitic  family 
as  well  as  to  the  Israelites.  In  the  same  way  it  seems 
likely  that  the  term  "rock"  was  used  by  other  Semitic 
stems  for  the  Divine  Being  as  well  as  by  Israel.  There 
are  various  Old  Testament  passages  where  the  term 
"rock"  is  predicated  of  God,  as  fortress  or  stronghold 
would  be  predicated,^  but  there  are  others  where  it  is  as 

originated  in  the  Arab  age  before  Islam It  probably  served 

the  heathen  Arabs  as  a  place  of  worship,  according  to  whose 
tradition,  as  is  known,  Job  lived  in  this  place."  The  inscription 
has  been  read  by  Erman,  ibid.,  pp.  210,211. 

'Journal  X.,  Kursi,  el-Aktab,  summer  of  igoi.  "The  common 
people  believe  that  the  spirits  dwell  in  the  rock."  "Any  day  you 
can  summon  them  by  prayer.  Friday  is  better,  and  the  day  of 
sacrifice  (dahhiyeh,  the  tenth  of  the  pilgrim  month)  is  the  best  of 
all.  There  is  a  room  where  the  ten  companions  meet,  only  those  to 
whom  God  has  revealed  it  know  where  it  is."  While  then  the 
common  people  think  that  the  ten  leaders  (Aktab,  that  is,  poles, 
leaders)  are  \n  the  stone,  the  representative  Moslems  give  wliat 
they  think  is  a  higher  idea,  namely,  that  they  meet  in  a  room. 

-  Deut.  xxxii.  4.  "Ascribe  ye  greatness  unto  our  God.  The 
Rock,  his  work,  is  perfect."  Cf.  vs.  15,18,30,31.  Cf.  2  Sam.  xxiii.3; 

Is.  XXX.  2Q. 

'Ps.  Ixii.  2. 


88  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

truly  a  designation  of  God  as  El,  or  Elohim.  May  it  not 
be  that  this  name  for  God  among  the  Semites  may  go 
back  to  a  time  when  the  rock  was  looked  upon  as  the 
medium  of  divine  revelation?  Indeed  it  seems  pretty 
clear  that  while  rock  is  used  in  some  passages  as  fortress 
is  used  in  others,  that  there  are  passages  where  rock  is 
as  spiritual  a  designation  for  God  as  Elohim,  and  where 
it  is  employed  without  reference  to  its  original  Semitic 
signification. 

It  seems  quite  clear  that  when  Jacob  took  the  stone 
which  he  had  put  under  his  head  as  a  pillow,  and  raised  it 
up  as  a  pillar,  poured  oil  upon  it,  and  called  it  "House 
of  God"  {peth  Elohim),^  he  was  on  the  same  plane  as 
the  ignorant  Moslems  to-day,  who  conceive  of  the  weli, 
who  is  practically  their  God,  as  dwelling  in  a  rock. 

The  most  remarkable  use  of  stones  that  I  have  seen 
is  in  connection  with  the  shrine  of  the  Prophet  Job  {Nebi 
Eyyub)  at  Busan,  in  the  Druse  Mountains.  In  front  of 
this  shrine  are  three  broken  pillars,  three  and  a  half  feet 
high.  They  are  the  only  examples  I  have  seen  of  the 
pillars  {jtiazzelwth),  of  which  we  read  so  often  in  the  Old 
Testament,  which  seem  to  have  been  regarded  as  legiti- 
mate at  one  period  of  Israel's  history,  as  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  covenant  at  Mount  Sinai,  when  Moses  set  up 
twelve  pillars  in  connection  with  the  altar.^  This  use  of 
pillars,  which  seems  to  have  passed  without  reproof  in 
the  earlier  history  of  worship,^  was  condemned  in  the 
Deuteronomic  code*  and  the  Deuteronomic  history.^ 

There    are    conspicuous    examples     among    modern 

1  Gen.  xxviii.  i8,  19,  22;  xxxv.  7. 

2  Ex.  xxiv.  4. 

3Gen.  xxxi.  13;  xxxv.  14;  Hos.  iii.  4;  Is-  xix.  19. 
■•Deut.  xii.  3;  xvi.  22;  cf.  Ex.  xxxiv.  13. 
*2  Kings  iii.  2;  xvii.  10;  xviii.  4;  xxiii.  14. 


THE    LOCAL    DIVINITIES  89 

Semites  of  the  revelation  of  saints  in  the  neighborhood 
of  sacred  waters.  Sometimes  the  saint  seems  to  be  con- 
sidered merely  the  proprietor  of  such  a  stream  as  at 
Nebk,  in  the  Syrian  desert/  which  I  shall  discuss  in 
another  place.  The  stream  is  regarded  as  belonging  to 
the  saint,  rather  than  as  the  means  of  revelation.  But 
it  may  be  a  question,  whether  the  distinction  between 
the  saint  and  the  water  spirit  who  inhabits  the  stream  is 
clearly  drawn  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  since  the  defile- 
ment of  the  stream  is  regarded  as  equivalent  to  the 
defilement  of  the  saint  himself,  as  is  evident  from  the 
language  used. 

The  Sabbatic  fountain  in  northern  Syria  ('Ain  Fowar), 
is  considered  as  belonging  to  St.  George;  and  yet  sacri- 
fices are  brought  to  the  fountain  rather  than  to  the  shrine 

itself.' 

The  hot  springs  at  Callirrhoe  (Zerka  Main)  are 
regarded  as  being  under  the  control  of  a  saint  {tueli)  or 
spirit  ijinn),  who  makes  the  fire  and  keeps  it  burning. 
The  natives,  who  go  to  be  healed  of  their  rheumatism, 
invoke  the  spirit  to  keep  up  the  fire,  so  that  the  water 
may  be  hot,  and  to  this  end  they  offer  sacrifices.^ 

» Journal  X.  Damascus.  Interview  with  Rev.  J.  Stewart  Craw- 
ford: "One  section  of  the  village  attributed  the  saint's  displeasure 
to  the  fact  that  another  section  had  performed  certain  religious 
ablutions  in  the  courtyard  of  the  shrine,  and  that  the  dirt  had  come 
on  the  saint  to  his  disgust." 

2  The  Independent  (personal  visit,  autumn  of  1898),  Vol.  L.,  p. 
1447,  note  3. 

"Journal  VIII.  Interview  with  Mr.  Henry  C.  Harding,  at 
Kerak,  summer  of  1898.  The  same  custom  obtains  when  they  visit 
the  hot  springs  (Zerka  Main).  They  believe  that  the  furnace  is 
in  charge  of  a  jinn  who  must  be  placated  before  he  will  make  up 
the  fire  to  heat  the  water.  Mr.  Harding  heard  a  man  all  the 
time  he  was  in  the  bath  invoking  the  spirit.  Cf.  Journal  VI., 
Zerka  Main,  summer  of  1900. 

"After  lunch,  Mr.  Forder  and  I  went  to  the  source  of  two  of  the 
springs  bursting  out  of  the  mountain.  Over  them  were  sticks  on 
which  the  Arabs  sit  wrapped  up  in  their  abbas,  and  thus  they  get 


90  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

At  Hamath,  in  the  court  of  a  lunatic  asylum,  which 
is  simply  a  place  where  the  insane  may  be  kept  securely 
by  putting  the  most  violent  in  irons,  there  is  a  small 
pool,  or  fountain,  which  is  called  a  well,  and  which  is 
visited  by  Moslem  women.' 

Such  sacred  waters,  and  many  more  which  might  be 
mentioned,  are  of  the  same  sort  as  those  described  in 
some  manuscripts  of  John  v.  2,  3,  though  excluded  by 
the  Revised  Version  as  not  belonging  to  the  original  text; 
"Now  there  is  in  Jerusalem  by  the  sheep  gate  a  pool, 
which  is  called  in  Hebrew  Bethesda,  having  five  porches. 
In  these  lay  a  multitude  of  them  that  were  sick,  blind, 
halt,  withered."  The  additional  matter  not  included  in 
the  revised  is  evidently  an  outgrowth  of  the  old  Semitic 
belief  in  sacred  waters  under  the  control  of  a  spirit: 
"Waiting  for  the  moving  of  the  water:  for  an  angel  went 
down  at  a  certain  season  into  the  pool,  and  troubled  the 
water;  whosoever  then  first  after  the  troubling  of  the  water 
stepped  in  was  made  whole  of  whatsoever  disease  he  had.  " 

There  are  numerous  examples  of  sacred  trees  among 
Syrians  and  Bedouin  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the 
other.  Some  of  these  are  at  shrines,  and  are  sacred 
merely  as  the  property  of  the  saint.  They  are  as  inviol- 
able as  anything  else  that  belongs  to  him,  or  that  has 

vapor  baths.  Mr.  Forder  says  they  offer  sheep,  taking  them  by 
their  legs  and  dipping  them  in."  Ibid.  Arab  camp  two  hours 
from  Zerka  Main:  "  The  Arabs  say  they  consider  the  hot  springs  at 
Zerka  Main  a  weli,  so  whenever  anything  is  the  matter  with  their 
flocks  they  offer  a  sacrifice." 

1  Journal  XI.,  Hama,  summer  of  1901:  "At  the  insane  asylum 
of  Hama  there  is  a  pool  to  which  they  take  the  robe  of  a  trouble- 
some   child,    and    wash    it.   ....    The    reason    for    the    virtue 

is   that   in   the   pool   is   a   certain  weli He   is   the   patron 

saint  of  all  insane  people.  He  appears  at  night  and  blesses  the 
insane  by  touching  them."  At  this  so-called  asylum  I  saw  a  stal- 
wart madman  with  a  heavy  chain  about  his  neck.  The  only 
asylum  in  Syria  and  Palestine  is  at  Asfuriyeh.near  Beirut,  recently 
founded  by  Mr.  Theophilus  Waldmeier. 


SACRED  TREE  HUNG  WITH  RAGS. 


THE    LOCAL   DIVINITIES  9 1 

been  put  under  his  protection.  At  the  same  time  they 
may  be  conceived  of  as  sacred  from  the  general  notion 
that  the  saint  reveals  himself  through  the  medium  of 
trees.  Thus  Mr.  Harding  writes:  "Trees,  however,  are 
honored  apart  from  welis.  A  tree  near  Gaza  el-Maisi  is 
distinctly  held  to  be  indwelt  by  a  divine  spirit,  and 
accordingly  receives  divine  honors.  Where  a  tree  is 
connected  with  a  weli  it  probably  was  the  original  object 
of  honor." 

There  are  many  trees,  apart  from  shrines,  which  are 
believed  to  be  possessed  by  spirits,  to  whom  vows  and 
sacrifices  are  made.  Such  trees  are  often  hung  with  rags 
or  bits  of  cloth.  It  is  not  easy  to  determine  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  rags.  Some  say  they  are  intended  to  be  a 
constant  reminder  to  the  saint  of  the  petition  of  the 
worshiper,  like  a  string  tied  around  the  finger;^  others 
that  the  rag  taken  from  the  ailing  body  of  the  suppliant, 
and  tied  to  one  of  the  branches,  is  designed  to  transfer 
the  illness  of  the  person  represented  by  the  rags  to  the 
saint,  who  thus  takes  it  away  from  the  sufferer  and  bears 
it  vicariously  himself.^  Sometimes  the  man  who  is  ill 
takes  a  rag  from  the  tree,  as  one  tears  off  a  bit  of  the 
pall  from  the  cenotaph  of  the  shrine,  and  carries  it  about 
on  his  person,  and  so  enjoys  the  advantage  of  virtue  from 
the  saint. ^      It  may  be  that  in  this  use  of  rags  we  have 

^Journal  L,  Karyaten,  Vineyard  of  Feiyad,  with  the  Rev.  J. 
Stewart  Crawford,  autumn  of  1898:  "They  also  tie  red  and  blue 
silk  around  the  weeds  in  the  inclosure  (of  Mar  Risha)  as  a  sign  to 
the  saint  that  they  want  his  help." 

2 Journal  X.,  Beirut,  William  Van  Dyck,  M.D.:  "The  sup- 
pliant, who  approaches  a  sacred  tree,  tears  off  a  piece  of  liis  gar- 
ment and  ties  it  to  the  tree,  by  which  he  commits  to  the  weli  his 
sickness.  He  then  takes  a  bit  of  the  rag  from  the  tree  which  he 
carries  about  with  him  and  by  which  he  receives  healing  from 
the  tree." 

'See  The  Independent,  journey  of  i8g8,  loc.  cit.  p.  1448.  The 
teacher  at  Mehardeh  in  northern  Syria  told  of  a  sheik  among  the 


92  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

the  same  idea  as  that  found  in  Acts  xix.  ii,  12:  "And 
God  wrought  special  miracles  by  the  hands  of  Paul; 
insomuch  that  unto  the  sick  were  carried  away  from  his 
body  handkerchiefs  or  aprons,  and  the  diseases  departed 
from  them,  and  the  evil  spirits  went  out." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  in  the  minds  of  the  people 
sacred  trees  are  places  where  spirits  reveal  themselves. 
Near  'Ain  Fijeh.  one  of  the  sources  of  the  Barada, 
thought  to  be  the  ancient  Abana  of  Scripture,'  is  a  weli, 
called  Sheik  Rihan,  decorated  with  flags.  A  peasant 
woman  said  that  it  was  customary  for  the  people  to  make 
a  vow  to  give  such  flags  if   their  petitions  were  fulfilled.^ 

Doughty  mentions  angels,  or  "the  power  of  the  air," 
who  come  to  a  sacred  grove,  under  whose  leafy  canopy 
one  who  is  ill  lies  down  and  finds  recovery,  while  he  who 
is  well,  who  takes  the  same  liberty,  receives  only  a  curse 
for  his  presumption.  Flesh  is  hung  upon  such  trees  as  if 
it  were  the  food  of  the  spirits  residing  in  them.^  There 
is  a  similar  custom  of  hanging  meat  in  the  branches  of 
the  trees  among  the  Tongas,  though  my  informant  was 
not  certain  what  was  the  intent  of  the  natives.* 

It  has  been  pointed  out  that  we  have  two  clear  traces 
of  sacred  trees  in  the  Old  Testament,  one  is  of  the  burn- 
ing bush,  upon  which  Moses  looked,  wondering  that  it 
was  not  consumed,  and  out  of    which  God  spoke, ^  an 

Ismailiyeh  who  carried  about  some  of  the  hair  of  the  sacred  virgin 
in  his  keffiyeh. 

1  2  Kings  V.  12. 

« Journal  X.,  Ain  Fijeh:  The  woman  "spoke  as  if  the  spirit 
were  in  the  tree,  and  only  said  that  she  asked  God  when  Mrs. 
John  Crawford  of  Damascus,  who  was  my  interpreter,  reminded 
her  that  it  was  wrong  to  pray  to  a  tree." 

^Op.  cit.  Vol.1.,  p.  449- 

*  Journal  X.  Interview  with  W.  L.  Thompson,  M.D.,  spring 
of  1901. 

''Ex.  iii.  2-4. 


THE   LOCAL   DIVINITIES  93 

obvious  use  of  ancient  tree  worship,  though  in  the  revela- 
tion of  God  to  Moses  clearly  avoiding  the  superstitious 
notions  connected  with  it.  A  similar  vision  was  lately 
seen  at  a  weli.  A  holy  man  at  Nebk  reported  that  he 
saw  in  flames  a  sacred  walnut-tree  which  was  by  the 
shrine  of  the  saint.^ 

So,  too,  the  sound  of  the  going  in  the  mulberry-trees, 
for  which  David  was  to  wait,  was  nothing  less  than  the 
divine  voice  speaking  to  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel,  in 
accordance  with  ancient  conceptions.^ 

Trees  under  which  saints  rested  are  considered  holy.' 
Here  there  is  the  same  notion  as  with  respect  to  sacred 
places  among  the  ancient  Israelites.  The  seat  of  a 
theophany  was  ever  afterwards  regarded  as  sacred,  for 
where  God  had  revealed  himself  once  he  was  likely  to 
reveal  himself  again.  This  is  clearly  indicated  with 
respect  to  the  Mount  of  Jehovah,  which  must  have  been 
understood  to  indicate  the  site  of  the  temple,  for  we 
read:  "And  Abraham  called  the  name  of  that  place 
'Jehovah  sees,'  as  it  is  said  to-day  in  the  Mount  of 
Jehovah,  'he  is  wont  to  be  seen.'"*  Indeed,  all  the 
ancient  shrines  of  Israel  had  been  consecrated  by  some 
theophany,  and  men  went  there  in  the  expectation  of  its 
repetition. 

Trees  are  also  objects  of  worship.   As  the  term  weli  is 

1  Journal  X.    Nebk. 

2  2  Sam.  V.  24. 

8 Journal  X.,  Beirut.  Interview  with  Dr.  Van  Dyck:  "There 
is  a  wild  myrtle  in  the  valley  below  ....  whicli  is  referred 
to  a  man  known  as  the  Lord,  who  is  believed  in  by  the  Druses, 
and  who  passed  through  the  country  working  wonders.  As  he 
journeyed  he  rested  under  trees,  which  from  that  time  on  assumed 
miraculous  powers." 

*Gen.  .\xii.  14.  This  was  most  likely  written  in  the  belief  that 
Abraham  received  a  revelation  from  God  on  the  site  of  the 
Temple. 


94  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

applied  to  them,  a  saint  is  evidently  conceived  of  as 
residing  in  them.  In  a  Turkish  village  in  northern  Syria, 
there  is  a  large  and  very  old  oak-tree,  which  is  regarded 
as  sacred.  People  burn  incense  to  it,  and  bring  their 
offerings  to  it,  precisely  in  the  same  way  as  to  some 
shrine.  There  is  no  tomb  of  any  saint  in  its  neighbor- 
hood, but  the  people  worship  the  tree  itself.^ 

The  discussion  of  caves,   as  the  dwelling  places  of 
spirits,   is  germane,  in  this  connection,   if  we  consider 
that  there  is  a  point  in  Semitic  thinking  where  there  is 
no  essential  difference  between  deity,  saint,  and  spirit. 
There  is,  undoubtedly,  a  tendency  to  differentiate  these 
beings,  to  give  God  the  highest  place  as  the  author  of 
good  and  evil,  the  saints  the  next  place,  with  much  the 
same  functions  as  God,  and  to  distinguish  between  bene- 
ficial and  harmful  spirits.     But  it  is  quite  likely  that  the 
original  Semitic  conception  was  much  simpler,  namely, 
that  the  primitive    idea  of  a   divine  being  was  that  of 
spirits,  who  might  be  friendly  or  hostile  to  men.     When 
we  remember  that  the  sacrifices  to  spirits  are  precisely 
of  the  same  sort  as  those  to  saints,  and  that  sometimes 
the  distinction  between  the  spirit  and  the  well  does  not 
seem  to  be  clearly  drawn— as  at  Zerka  Main,  he  may  be 
considered  a  weli,   or  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
jinn — it  is  evident  that  the  notion  of  divinity  is  not  sharply 
defined  among  the  ignorant,  whose  minds  furnish    the 
most  perfect  mirror  of  ancient  views  about  divine  beings. 

There  are  doubtless  many  caves  to  be  found  in  Syria, 
some  of  which  are  conceived  of  as  being  under  the  con- 
trol of  a  weli,  and  some  as  inhabited  by  jinn.  One  of 
the  former  class  is  resorted  to  by  mothers  who  have  an 
insufficient  supply  of  milk  for  their  children  i^  a  second 

'  The  Independent,  loc.  cit.  p.  1446, 
2  Ibid.  p.  1447. 


THE    LOCAL   DIVINITIES  95 

is  a  place  visited  by  married  couples  who  are  childless 
and  who  desire  offspring.' 

Near  the  foot  of  Mount  Carmel,  above  the  sea,  is  an 
artificial  cave  which  is  said  to  have  been  tenanted  by  the 
Prophet  Elijah,  which  is  visited  by  all  the  sects,  and 
known  by  the  Moslems  as  Khuddr.  I  saw  this  cave  in 
the  summer  of  1901,  and  had  an  interview  with  the  Mos- 
lem minister,  or  custodian,  who  said,  when  speaking  of 
the  income  which  came  to  him  through  the  weli, 
"Khuddr  is  my  God  and  my  father's  God;  he  has  sup- 
ported us  for  years.  "^  Thus  there  was  put  into  con- 
crete form  a  confession  which  expresses  the  belief  of 
many  an  Arab  and  Fellahin,  as  to  the  being  upon  whom 
he  depends  in  the  hour  of  his  distress,  and  who  exerts 
the  greatest  restraint  upon  his  life. 

'Journal  X.,  summer  of  1891;  An  American  physician,  liv- 
ing in  Syria,  who  is  childless,  said  "he  was  recommended  by  a 
native  to  visit  a  cave  near  Juneh,  where  barren  women  go 
attended  by  their  husbands.  There  is  a  pool  in  the  cave.  They 
first  bathe  together  in  the  cave,  and  then  expect  their  marriage 
will  be  fruitful." 

2  Journal  XIII.,  Haifa,  summer  of  1901. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

DEIFIED   MEN 

Inasmuch  as  the  teaching  of  the  Moslem  creed  insists, 
"there  is  no  god  but  God,"  it  is  easy  to  see,  that  wher- 
ever Islam  has  sway,  it  excludes  anything  like  the  deifica- 
tion of  men;  nevertheless  we  have  seen  in  the  preced- 
ing chapter,  that  the  saints,  once  men,  are  treated  as 
divine.  They  are  addressed  directly  in  vows  and  prayers. 
Blasphemy  against  Mohammed  is  a  state  offense,'  and 
ignorant  Moslems  sometimes  offer  prayers  directly  to 
him.^ 

Wherever  heresy  exists,  and  the  working  of  the  native 
mind  is  untrammeled  by  fear  of  being  unorthodox,  we 
may  observe  two  phenomena,  which  are  none  the  less 
significant,  although  they  are  found  among  a  people  who 
may  be  descended  from  a  Canaanitish  stock.  I  refer  to 
the  Nusairiyeh,  in  northern  Syria,  who  are  commonly 
reckoned  among  the  Shiites,  of  whom  the  Ismailiyeh,^  a 
closely  related  sect,  the  Druses,*  and  the  Babites^  are 
conspicuous  examples.     Indeed  the  Turkish  government, 

'  Journal  X.,  Damascus. 

2  Journal  XIII.,  Brummana,  summer  of  1901. 

^Journal  XII.,  summer  of  iqoi. 

*For  a  brief  account,  see  Sell's  Essays  on  Islam,  London,  1901, 
pp.  147-184.  The  classic  authority  on  the  Druses  is  De  Sacy, 
Expose  de  la  Religion  des  Druses,  i,  11,  Paris,  MDCCCXXXVIII. 

^Browne,  A  Traveller's  Narrative,  written  to  illustrate  the  Epi- 
sode of  the  Bab,  Cambridge,  1891;  New  History  of  Mirza  AH 
Muhammad  the  Bab,  Cambridge,  1893;  Sell,  op.  cit.  pp.  46-98; 
Andreas,  Die  Babis  in  Persien,  lore  Geshichte  und  Lehre  quellen- 
masig  und  nach  eigener  Anschauung  dargestellt,  Leipzig,  1896. 
The  titles  of  numerous  books  and  articles  on  this  sect  may  be 
found  in  Browne,  op.  cit. 

96 


DEIFIED    MEN  97 

in  order  to  remove  the  Nusairiyeh  from  the  influence  of 
Protestant  missions,  classifies  them  as  Moslems  to-day, 
but  with  no  good  reason,  as  must  appear  to  any  one  who 
has  the  opportunity  to  look  into  any  of  their  sacred 
books.'  They  are  divided  into  the  initiated  and  the 
uninitiated.  For  one  of  the  initiated  to  disclose  the 
secrets  of  the  sect  means  death. ^  These  were  made 
known  years  ago  by  an  entire  unbeliever  through  the 
medium  of  the  famous  Dr.  Van  Dyck,  of  Beirut,  father  of 
Dr.  William  Van  Dyck.  While  at  Beirut  he  wrote  his 
treatise  in  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Henry  H.  Jessup,  D.  D. 
Lulled  into  security  by  the  promises,  fair  speeches,  and 
abounding  hospitality  of  his  former  coreligionists,  he 
was  afterwards  lured  to  Mersina,  where  he  was  buried 
alive.' 

There  is  every  reason  for  believing  that  the  book, 
which  was  published  about  1863,  and  which  was  trans- 
lated in  part  by  Professor  Salisbury,  of  Yale  College,  and 
issued  with  the  text  in  the  Journal  of  the  Oriental  Soci- 
ety, 1866,  contains  a  true  account  of  the  ceremony  of 
initiation,  as  well  as  of  the  tenets  of  the  initiated.  A 
sheik  of  the  Nusairiyeh,  who  was  very  intimate  with  a 
Protestant  pastor,  confessed  as  much  to  him  two  years 
a4^o.*  They  went  over  the  book  in  detail,  and  the  sheik 
uttered  po  dissent,  except  with   respect  to  prayers  con- 

'  A  good  idea  of  these  may  be  had  from  Salisbury's  translation 
of  the  book  by  Suleiman  of  Adana,  supplemented  by  Lyde,  The 
Asian  Mystery,  London,  i860. 

2  It  is  custf)mary  to  appoint  twelve  sponsors  for  each  one  who 
is  to  be  initiated.  The  Imam  inquires:  "  In  case  he  discloses  this 
mystery,  will  ye  bring  him  to  me,  that  we  may  cut  him  in  pieces 
and  drink  his  blood?"  Journal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society, 
Vol.  VIII.,  p.  232. 

'Journal  XII. 

*The  name  is  not  given,  for  obvious  reasons,  but  I  had  an  inter- 
view with  the  pastor,  a  most  trustworthy  man. 


98  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

sisting  in  curses,  in  which  other  sects  are  mentioned.^ 
The  existence  of  such  curses  in  the  ritual  of  the  Nusairi- 
yeh  he  denied.  But  his  denial  did  not  persuade  his 
Protestant  friend.  He  was  soon  suspected  by  the 
Nusairiyeh  of  revealing  the  secrets  of  their  religion. 
Nothing  but  the  strongest  affirmation  that  there  had  not 
been  any  such  interview  freed  him  from  immediate  death. 
The  information  contained  in  this  chapter  is  not  derived 
mainly  from  the  book  of  Suleiman  of  Adana,  or  from 
books  about  the  Babites.  I  made  a  journey  into  the 
mountains  of  the  Nusairiyeh,  visited  Ain  Kurum,  a  vil- 
lage where  lawlessness  is  rife,  where  there  are  no  marriage 
rites,  boys  of  fifteen  and  girls  of  ten  meeting  and  pairing 
in  the  romantic  and  dark  recesses  of  the  beautiful  woods, 
leaving  the  matter  of  dowry  to  be  decided  in  angry 
dispute  by  their  parents  after  the  consummation  of  a 
marriage.  It  was  to  this  place,  perched  on  the  side  of 
a  mountain,  that  a  neighboring  village  came,  several 
hundred  strong,  two  years  before,  and  attacked  the  men 
of  Ain  Kurum,  leaving  ninety  dead,  and  thus  lighting 
the  flames  of  blood  revenge  which  will  not  be  extin- 
guished for  generations.^ 

Sixty  Turkish  horsemen  visited  the  same  place  to  col- 
lect the  taxes,  and  had  such  a  bellicose  reception  that 
they  begged  for  their  lives.  The  only  night  we  spent 
there  was  made  wakeful  and  anxious  by  clamor  and  fre- 
quent shots. 

As  by  reason  of  the  blood  feud  with  the  village,  an 

'"Whoever  desires  salvation  from  the  glow  of  infernal  fires 
let  him  say  ....  'Curse  thou  those  who    play  with  apes  .... 

together  with  all  Christians  and  Jews Moreover,  lay  thou 

thy  curse  upon  John  Marun  the  patriarch  ....  and  upon  all  those 
who  feed  upon  thy  bounties,  while  they  worship  thee  not.'  "  Jour- 
nal of  the  American  Oriental  Society,  loc.  cit.  p.,  273. 

2  Blood  revenge  is  still  the  most  binding  institution  of  ancient 
Semitic  life  in  Syria,  Palestine,  and  Arabia. 


DEIFIED    MEN  99 

hour  and  a  half  distant,  we  were  unable  to  take  the  usual 
way  into  the  western  country  of  the  Nusairiyeh,  over 
their  mountains  to  Ladikiyeh,  we  were  compelled  to 
make  a  steep  and  very  difificult  ascent  under  the  guid- 
ance of  one  of  their  religious  sheiks.  We  saw  one  of 
our  mules  roll  over  and  over  for  more  than  a  thousand 
feet  down  an  incline  that  seemed  almost  perpendicular. 
We  heard  the  despairing  cry  of  the  muleteer,  and  the 
appeal  of  our  sheik  to  Khuddr.  Wonder  of  wonders! 
thanks  to  our  baggage,  which  broke  the  force  of  his  fall, 
we  saw  the  mule  rise  to  his  feet.  Our  muleteers,  over- 
come by  thirst,  and  their  exertions  over  this  fall,  and 
others  which  followed,  were,  after  seven  hours  of  climb- 
ing, when  they  reached  one  of  the  most  beautiful  forests' 
is  Syria,  ready  to  lie  down  and  die.  It  was  then  that  the 
greed  of  the  religious  sheik  came  to  the  surface.  As  we 
sat  down  in  one  of  the  shadiest  nooks  of  that  beautiful 
forest,  and  our  muleteers  seemed  in  the  last  stages  of 
collapse,  he  told  of  a  spring  of  ice  cold  water,  fre- 
quented by  beasts  of  prey,  which  he  would  show  us  for  a 
good  bakshish.  After  he  had  led  us  to  this  spring,  we 
went  through  fastnesses  which  no  Turkish  soldier  could 

'There  are  perhaps  three  really  fine  forests  in  Syria  and  Pal- 
estine, some  might  say  four,  and  even  more:  i.  The  cedars, /ar 
excellence,  near  the  valley  of  the  Kadisha.  2.  Overtlie  Nusairiyeh 
Mountains,  on  the  way  from  Ain  Kurum  to  Matwar,  is  "  a  primeval 
forest  of  oak,  perhaps  the  finest  in  all  Syria."  Journal  XI.,  3. 
From  Ain  Jenneh  to  Irbid:    "  For  the  first  four  hours  one  could 

hardly  see  in  any  country  a  more  delightful  region Here 

are  old  forests."  Merrill,  East  of  the  Jordan,  New  York,  p.  181. 
"  The  ride  was  delightful  for  about  three  hours.     There  is  no  other 

like  it  that  I  have  seen  in  eastern  or    western    Palestine 

The  trees  are  not  more  than  twenty  or  twenty-five  feet  high,  but 
the  tops  are  handsome.  One  has  the  delightful  experience  of  rid- 
ing a  long  distance  in  the  shade."  Journal  V.,  summer  of  1899. 
Another  forest  may  be  seen  on  the  way  from  Arak  el-Emir  to 
Wadi  es-Sir.  There  are  pine  forests  that  have  been  planted  and 
fostered  at  various  points,  but  the  finest  natural  forests  are  those 
just  mentioned. 


lOO  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

attempt,  past  a  high  place — a  conical  hill,  towering  in 
solitary  grandeur,  crowned  with  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful, awe-inspiring  groves  imaginable.  At  last  we  reached 
an  entirely  different  kind  of  life  among  the  foothills  of 
the  mountains.  We  sought  protection  from  a  sheik,  a 
noble-looking  man,  surrounded  by  men  of  fine  appear- 
ance. We  caught  glimpses  of  comely  women,  who  were 
in  sharpest  contrast  to  their  degraded  sisters  at  Ain 
Kurum,  for  theirs  was  the  happier  lot  of  a  life  compara- 
tively free  from  violence  and  mere  animalism. 

Accompanied  by  Rev.  James  S.  Stewart  of  Ladikiyeh 
I  visited  a  company  of  Christians  in  a  village  of  the 
Nusairiyeh,  and  received  most  interesting  information 
from  them,  though  they  were  still  under  the  dominion 
of  ancient  Semitic  ideas,  in  spite  of  their  Protestant 
training. 

On  our  return  journey  we  went  to  Behammra,  where 
Lyde,  the  first  English  missionary  labored,  built  mission 
premises,  which,  with  one  exception,  are  in  ruins.  In 
Lyde's  own  home  we  gathered,  and  heard  of  the  indig- 
nities from  which  he  suffered  in  being  yoked  with  an  ass 
to  a  plow  by  the  barbarians  to  whom  he  was  attempting 
to  preach  the  gospel.  It  required  some  finesse  to  keep 
away  spies  who  came  to  listen,  and  who  might  have  caused 
the  death  of  our  informant  had  they  heard  all  that  was 
told  us.  They  were  emboldened  by  a  governor  of  the 
Turkish  government,  disputing  the  claim  of  the  mission 
of  the  American  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church  to  the 
property.  Through  the  courage  and  skilful  diplomacy 
of  the  American  consul,  Mr.  G.  B.  Ravndal,  of  Beirut, 
this  property  was  saved  to  the  mission,  and  the  official 
who  had  made  himself  so  offensive  was  removed. 

It  is  not  a  reassuring  sight  in  such  a  region  to  see  a 
band  of  armed  men  watching  the  highway  by  which  you 


DEIFIED    MEN  lOI 

are  approaching,  or  to  have  them  follow  you,  however 
friendly  their  subsequent  professions  may  be.  This,  to 
me,  at  the  time,  was  an  alarming  experience,  though  my 
missionary  companion,  accustomed  from  childhood  to 
tales  of  murderous  raids  by  the  Bedouin,  showed  no  sign 
of  fear;  to  him  it  was  merely  an  incident  of  travel. 

We  spent  a  night  in  Musyaf,  a  lonely,  walled  town  of 
the  Ismailiyeh,  after  we  had  traveled  through  their  coun- 
try with  two  mounted  guardsmen  who  had  been  sent  to 
overtake  us  from  the  picturesque  and  romantic  town  of 
Kadmus.  Musyaf  is  the  place  where  the  chief  of  the 
Assassins  once  lived  in  Syria,  Rashid  ed-Din,  with  whom 
Saladin  had  to  come  to  terms,  though  he  had  attempted 
Saladin's  life  repeatedly  through  his  minions.  These 
were  so  completely  under  his  control  that,  at  a  given 
signal,  two  of  them  threw  themselves  down  from  a  high 
tower  to  a  violent  death,  in  order  to  demonstrate  to  a 
visitor,  Henry,  count  of  Champagne,  their  implicit  obedi- 
ence, and  to  strike  terror  into  his  heart.'  Here,  three 
years  before,  I  was  under  arrest,  because  I  did  not  have 
a  passport  {tezkcreli).  We  were  guarded  by  four  sol- 
diers at  night,  on  my  second  visit,  by  command  of  the 
governor,  who  marvelled  at  our  presumption,  which 
would  have  been  prevented  could  it  have  been  foreseen. 
But  in  the  eyes  of  the  government  "might  makes  right," 
and  an  act  questionable  before  its  performance  is  con- 
doned if  it  has  been  accomplished. 

In  the  same  way  my  visit  to  Abbas  Effendi,  the  head 
of  the  Babites,  was  not  effected  under  easy  circum- 
stances. Quarantine  had  shut  off  all  regular  communi- 
cation of  Beirut  with  Haifa,  except  by  "Prince  George," 
derisively  known  as  the  "Jolly  Boat,"  which  can  furnish 

'  Porter,  The  Order  of  The  Assassins,  The  Hibliotheca  Sacra, 
Oberlin,  Ohio,  1895,  p.  129. 


I02  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

as  great  a  complement  of  human  misery  as  any  craft 
afloat.  The  Moslem,  the  inmate  of  the  harem,  and  the 
Chicago  professor  had  the  touch  of  nature  that  some- 
times makes  all  the  world  kin  at  sea.  The  day  after  my 
arrival  I  spent  nearly  four  hours  with  the  head  of  the 
great  Persian  sect,  who  is  really  a  prisoner  at  Acre,  and 
who  is  recognized  by  Frenchmen,  Russians,  and  Ameri- 
cans, notably  by  some  American  ladies  of  fortune,  as  an 
incarnation  of  God  himself.  I  had  the  honor  of  dining 
with  Abbas  Effendi,  and  of  taking  afternoon  tea  with 
him.  He  seemed  to  throw  off  all  reserve,  was  eager  to 
welcome  me  as  a  possible  disciple,  and  when  I  left  "the 
master,"  as  he  ie  invariably  called  by  his  followers,  he 
voiced  the  hope,  evidently  adapting  a  New  Testament  ex- 
pression, that  we  might  drink  tea  together  in  the  heavenly 
kingdom.  Besides  this  interview,  and  reading  all  the 
works  that  were  at  hand,  by  Abbas  Effendi's  permission, 
I  had  an  interview  with  his  private  secretary. 

While  it  is  true  that  neither  the  Nusairiyeh,  nor  the 
Druses,  whose  heaven,  as  we  have  seen,  is  in  China,^ 
nor  the  Babites,  who  are  a  Persian  sect  of  comparatively 
recent  origin,  and  have  been  strongly  affected  by  New 
Testament  and  Christian  teaching,  belong  to  the  Semitic 
stock,  as  we  have  seen,  I  do  not  feel  that  I  should  drop 
them  wholly  out  of  this  investigation.  They  furnish 
some  good  illustrations  of  the  deification  of  men,  though 
in  all  these  Shiite  sects  this  idea  has  been  modified  by 
their  gnostic  notions,  their  hospitality  to  Neo-Platonism, 
and  a  pantheistic  philosophy,  all  of  which  elements  appear 
in  Sufiism.^ 

While  the  Nusairiyeh,  like  the  Druses,  assume  in  pub- 
lic the  guise  of  Islam,  which  they  change  on  occasion 

'  P.  62. 

2  Ellis,  op.  cit.,  pp.  1-45. 


DEIFIED    MEN  IO3 

like  a  "garment, "  '  we  have  in  them  the  contrast  between 
the  survival  of  ancient  heathenism,  in  the  worship  of 
heavenly  bodies,^  which  they  identify  with  Ali,  the  cousin 
and  son-in-law  of  Mohammed,  and  his  deification  as  a 
spiritual  being.  The  ancient  worship  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  comes  to  the  surface  because  the  heretical  sect 
of  the  Nusairiyeh  does  not  exercise  any  such  restrain- 
ing influence  as  Islam,  and  because  the  uninitiated,  at 
least  among  the  Nusairiyeh,  have  never  been  purged  by 
a  purer  faith  from  the  popular  worship  of  the  sun  and 
moon. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  trace  the  process  by  which  Ali  has 
come  to  receive  ascriptions  of  praise  as  a  divine  being, 
such  as  are  not  found  in  the  orthodox  literature  of 
Islam. ^  The  sect  of  the  Shiites,  of  which  the  Nusairiyeh 
are  a  subdivision,  view  with  indignation  the  treatment 
that  Ali  received  with  respect  to  the  succession  in  the 
caliphate.  Instead  of  being  the  immediate  successor  of 
the  prophet,  he  was  not  the  recognized  head  of  the 
Moslems  until  Abu  Bekr,  Umr,  and  Uthman  had  pre- 
ceded him.  As  indicating  how  lasting  is  the  feeling  of 
the  Shiites,  the  Nusairy  bride,  when  she  is  washing  her- 
self preparatory  to  her  nuptials,*  curses  the  first  three 
caliphs  who  succeeded  Mohammed.  But  the  most  influ- 
ential cause  in  bringing   this  indignation   to  white  heat 

i"They  simulate  all  sects The  simulation  of  sects  is  set 

forth  by  them  allegorically,  as  follows:  We,  say  they,  are  the  bojdy, 
and  all  the  other  sects  are  clothing;  but  whatever  sort  of  clothing 
a  man  may  put  on,  it  injures  him  not."  Salisbury,  Sulaiman  on  the 
Nusairian.     Religion,  loc.  cit.,  p.  298. 

2 "They  hold  that    God   is   tlie  sun  and  moon God  is 

called  Ali,  the  higliest.  They  are  divided  into  two  sects,  some 
believe  he  is  in  the  sun,  others  that  he  is  in  the  moon."  Journal 
XI.,  Country  of  the  Nusairiyeh.  Cf.  Salisbury,  op.  cit.,  pp.  3CX),  301, 

^Salisbury,  op.  cit.,  p.  278. 

^Journal  XL,  Behammra. 


104  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

was  the  assassination  of  Ali,  the  supposed  assassination 
of  his  elder  son,  Hasan,  by  an  inmate  of  his  harem,  who, 
as  the  Aliites  falsely  claim,  was  bribed  to  do  the  deed 
by  the  caliph,  and  the  assassination  of  his  younger  son, 
Hosein,  by  a  cruel  emissary.  The  pathos  of  his  ending 
has  never  been  forgotten.  The  lips  that  had  fondly 
kissed  those  of  Mohammed  became  cold  in  death. 
Passion  plays  are  still  annually  celebrated  at  Kerbela, 
where  he  met  his  death.  All  its  bloody  details  are  repeated 
before  the  horrified  populace,  who  still  utter  loud  lamen- 
tations, as  if  their  taking  off  had  just  occurred,  and  who, 
with  pale  and  quivering  lips,  call  out  these  names,  Hasan 
and  Hosein  as  of  beloved  first-born.'  The  fact  that 
Hasan  was  a  weak  character,  and  won  the  title  of  divorcer, 
on  account  of  his  numerous  matrimonial  ventures,  makes 
no  difference  in  the  popular  esteem. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  poignant  sense  of  the 
injustice  done  to  Ali  has  contributed  largely  to  his  deifi- 
cation. On  the  one  hand,  he  is  regarded  by  the  heirs  of 
the  ancient  heathen  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies  as 
being  in  the  sun;  others  think  of  him  as  in  the  moon, 
while  the  angels  are  the  stars,  and  the  true  believers  are 
identified  with  the  Milky  Way.^  There  are  indeed  traces 
of  such  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies  among  ignorant 
Moslems.  A  missionary  was  trying  to  teach  the  children 
of  a  Moslem  woman  that  they  were  descended  from  Adam 
and  Eve.  "No,"  said  the  woman;  "the  moon  is  our 
father  and  the  sun  our  mother."^  Here,  then,  igno- 
rance and  heresy  have  joined  hands  to  transmit  the  wor- 
ship of  the  heavenly  bodies,  mentioned  so  often  and  with 

'  Testimony  of  an  eye-witness,  Journal  XII.  Cf.  Muir,  Annals  of 
the  Early  Caliphate,  London,  1883,  p.  442. 

'^  Nofel  Effendi  Nofel,  History  of  Religion  in  Arabic. 

"Miss  M.  T.  Maxwell  Ford  of  Safed. 


DEIFIED    MEN  I05 

SO  much  reprobation  in  the  Old  Testament.'  Even 
to-day  many  ruins  of  ancient  sun  temples  remain.  Rev. 
Franklin  E.  Hoskins,  of  Beirut,  of  the  American  Presby- 
terian Mission,  has  made  important  investigations  with 
respect  to  ancient  sun  temples,  which  have  never  been 
published.^ 

Even  to-day  many  ruins  of  ancient  sun  temples  remain. 
The  outlook  is  toward  the  east.  The  situation  is  most 
beautiful,  whether  on  some  mountain  summit,  as  on 
Mount  Hermon,^  or  on  the  Anti-Lebanon,  opposite  some 
notch  in  the  mountain,  where  the  worshiper  could  catch 
the  first  rays  of  the  rising  sun.  Mr.  Hoskins  has  found 
more  than  twenty-five  such  temples.  Some  of  them  exist 
in  pairs,  one  being  in  the  village,  and  the  other  on  the 
mountain. 

There  are  rites  among  the  Nusairiyeh  in  other  parts 
of  the  country,  which  indicate  a  worship  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  such  as  the  turning  of  silver  coins  to  the  moon, 
as  a  presentation  of  the  coin,  indicating  the  worship  of 
that  body.  There  can  be  no  question  that  the  ignorant 
and  uninitiated  among  the  Nusairiyeh  worship  the 
heavenly  bodies,  and  it  is  likely  that  the  initiated  are 
not  entirely  free  from  that  worship.* 

'  Deut.  iv.  19;  2  Kings  xxiii.  11;  Ezek.  viii.  16. 

2  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Mr.  Hoskins  will  find  the  time  to  com- 
plete his  researches  and  to  give  them  to  the  learned  world. 

'It  seems  to  me  there  can  be  no  question  that,  whatever  may 
be  determined  as  to  the  ruins  as  they  exist  to-day,  there  was  a 
time  when  the  sun  was  worshiped  from  the  summit  of  Hermon. 
A  platform  can  be  traced  which  faces  toward  the  east. 

*Mr,  Jaburof  Nebk,  a  very  intelligent  Syrian,  thinks  the  real 
religion  of  the  Ismailiyeh  and  the  Nusairiyeh  is  an  ancient  hea- 
thenism. He  says  that  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  are  worshiped  in 
the  northern  portion  of  the  country.  He  maintains  that  under  the 
pretense  of  worshiping  Ali,  they  worship  the  heavenly  bodies. 
I  consider  this  merely  a  conjecture  which  is  not  supported  by 
facts.     Journal  XII, 


I06  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC   RELIGION   TO-DAY 

Some  adore  the  heavens  and  the  twilight,  while  others 
adore  the  sun  and  moon.  This  adoration  is  indicated  by 
symbolical  acts.  Those  who  adore  the  heavens  and  the 
twilight,  when  they  recite  a  certain  prayer,  indicate  it  by 
the  symbolical  act  of  placing  "the  right  hand  upon  the 
breast"  and  "applying  the  inner  part  of  the  thumb  to 
the  middle  finger."  "While  among  the  worshipers  of  the 
moon,"  when  engaged  in  the  same  prayer,  "some  spread 
out  the  hand  with  the  thumb  erect,  so  that  it  has  the 
shape  of  the  new  moon,  and  others  place  both  hands 
upon  the  breast,  opening  them  wide,  with  the  fingers  of 
one  over  those  of  the  other,  and  two  thumbs  erect,  so 
as,  in  this  way,  to  represent  the  shape  of  the  moon."  ^ 

Lyde  says  that  the  Nusairiyeh  are  divided  into  two 
sects,  the  "Shemseeh"  from  "shems,"  the  sun,  and  the 
"Kumreeh"  from  "kumr,"  the  moon.  He  reports  that 
his  servant  told  him,  "that  his  people,  who  are  of  the 
Kumreeh  sect,  are  extremely  'afraid'  of  the  sun  and 
moon,  and  pray  to  them."  He  says,  also,  "that  it  is  a 
common  thing  for  the  women  and  children  to  speak  of 
the  moon  (which  probably  looks  greater  to  them)  as  the 
face  of  Ali,  and  the  sun,  as  that  of  Mohammed."  ^ 

The  deification  of  Ali  by  the  Nusairiyeh  has  become 
complete.  It  rests  on  the  principle  that  "spiritual  things 
appear  in  physical  forms,"  thus  "the  Angel  Gabriel  was 
incarnate  and  came  in  the  form  of  a  Bedouin,  and  Satan 
may  appear  in  human  form,  so,  too,  the  jinn,  and  God 
himself.  As  there  is  no  prophet  higher  than  Ali,  and 
after  him  his  sons,  because  they  are  the  best  of  the  crea- 
tion, God  revealed  himself  through  them,  and  therefore 

they  call    them    gods They  apply   a   saying    of 

Mohammed    to  Ali:  'I  judge  by  externals,   God  knows 

'  Salisbury,  op.  cit.,  pp.  254,  255. 
'Lyde,  op.  cit.,  pp.  138,  139. 


DEIFIED    MEN  IO7 

the  secrets.'     They  believe  that  AH  had  charge  of  all 

the  secrets  of  God They  maintain,  judging  from 

Mohammed's  statement,  that  he  considered  Ali  equal  to 
Christ.  Ali  existed  before  the  heavens  and  earth.  He 
was  on  the  right  hand  of  the  divine  throne  before  his 
incarnation."'  He  is  not  only  regarded  as  the  incar- 
nation of  God,  as  having  ascended  to  heaven  without 
dying,  but  he  is  considered  as  God,  as  the  first  cause,  as 
the  creator  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  as  the  only 
God.  When  this  point  has  been  reached  it  is  easy  to  see 
how  it  comes  in  conflict  with  the  facts  of  history. 
Hence  there  are  those  of  the  Nusairiyeh  who  deny  a 
priori,  that  Ali  had  children.^  As  they  affirm  that 
women  were  created  from  "the  sins  of  devils,"  they 
could  not  well  conceive  of  a  divine  being  having  connec- 
tion with  a  daughter  of  the  devil;  indeed,  they  deny  that 
their  religious  sheiks  have  any  such  connection,  and 
claim  that  their  children  are  begotten  through  passes 
which  these  leaders  make  with  their  hands  over  the 
bodies  of  their  wives. ^ 

Among  the  Druses,  who  are  classed  as  a  Moslem  sect, 
but  only  wear  the  Moslem  or  any  other  faith  as  a  cloak 
or  defense  in  time  of  danger,  and  who  hold  an  esoteric 
teaching,  which  one  reveals  at  the  peril  of  his  life,  there 
is  the  deification  of  a  man,  Hakim,  whose  wickedness  and 
cruelties  were  the  terror  of  his  time,  and  are  among  the 
marvels  of  history.*     And  yet  this  monster  of  wicked- 

>  Unpublished  MS. 

^Journal  XI.  Cf.  Lyde,  The  Asian  Mystery,  p.  116:  "The 
Ansaireeh  do  not  suppose  All  to  have  been  flesh  and  blood,  but 
rather  a  luminous  appearance.  They  speak  of  his  acts  as  zahir, 
apparent  only.  For  instance,  says  the  Ansairee  lad,  they  say  he 
was  not  really  married;  for  how,  say  they,  could  he  be,  being 
God?"    Salisbury,  op.  cit.,  p.  253. 

•Salisbury,  op.  cit.,  p.  297. 

*Sell,  op.  cit.,  pp.  147  £f. 


I08  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

ness  has  been  deified  by  the  Druses,  and  they  confidently 
look  for  his  second  coming.' 

In  treating  of  the  Babites,  we  have  to  deal  with  a  sect 
which  began  in  the  year  1844,  though  its  immediate 
parentage  was  from  the  Shaikhis,  which  is  also  an  out- 
growth of  Shiism,  and  has  some  points  of  similarity  with 
the  Nusairiyeh  and  the  Druses.  Though  a  heretical  sect 
of  Islam,  and  a  hybrid  of  the  teachings  of  Islam  and  the 
Bible,  especially  of  the  Gospels,  and  with  an  ancestry 
extending  back  to  the  Sufis,  it  is,  in  its  aims,  its  ideals, 
and  in  the  men  and  women  that  it  has  produced,  by  far 
the  noblest  sect  born  of  Islam.  Its  founder,  those  who 
suffered  martyrdom  with  him,  and  many  more  who  have 
endured  a  like  fate,  have  won  the  sympathy,  and  largely 
the  approval,  of  those  who  have  studied  their  system  and 
portrayed  their  lives. ^ 

So  far  as    Babiism  is  founded  on  the  philosophical 

1  Ibid,  p.  176. 

2  Browne,  op.  cit.,  p.  226:  "  Kazem-Beg  says  ....  that  one 
day,  falling  into  an  ecstasy,  Mirza  AH  Muhammad  discovered  that 
he  was  the  Bab,  the  gate  of  truth."  Bab  is  the  Arabic  for  gate.  It 
is  interesting  to  note  that  the  related  sect  of  the  Nusairiyeh  use  the 
same  term  of  Bab.  Lyde,  op.  cit.,  p.  no  writes:  "The  Ansaireeh 
believe  in  one  God,  self-existent  and  eternal.  This  God  manifested 
himself  in  the  world  seven  times  in  human  form,  from  Abel  to  Ali 
son  of  Abu-Taleb,  which  last  manifestation  was  the  most  perfect; 
that  to  which  the  others  pointed,  and  in  which  the  mystery  of  the 
divine  appearances  found  their  chief  end  and  completion. 

At  each  of  these  manifestations  the  Deity  made  use  of  two 
other  persons;  the  first  created  out  of  the  light  of  his  essence,  and 
by  himself,  and  the  second  created  by  the  first.  These,  with  the 
Deity,  form  an  inseparable  trinity,  called  Maana,  Ism,  Bab. 

The  first,  the  Maana  (meaning,)  is  the  designation  of  the  Deity 
as  the  meaning,  sense,  or  reality  of  all  things. 

The  second,  the  Ism  (name,)  is  also  called  the  Hedjah,  or  veil, 
because  under  it  the  Maana  conceals  its  glory,  while  by  it  it  re- 
veals itself  to  men. 

The  third,  the  Bab  (door,)  is  so  called  because  through  it  is  the 
entrance  to  the  knowledge  of  the  two  former  ....  The  third  per- 
son in  the  trinity  is  the  Bab  ....  who  in  the  time  of  Adam  was 
Gabriel, and  in  the  time  of  Ali  wasSalman-il-Farisee,  the  Persian." 


DEIFIED    MEN  IO9 

system  of  Sufiism,  it  does  not  belong  in  our  discussion; 
but  so  far  as  it  deifies  certain  men,  and  is  closely  con- 
nected with  the  sects  already  mentioned,  it  should  not  be 
passed  by. 

Sell,  in  his  able  essay  on  The  Mystics  of  Islam,  has 
shown  how  Sufiism  has  furnished  the  philosophical  basis 
for  Babiism.  God  is  the  primal  element.  In  creation 
he  came  forth  from  internal  to  external  manifestation. 
He  is  being;  man  and  all  created  things  are  not-being. 
Not-being  is  the  mirror  in  which  being  is  seen.  Indeed, 
the  infinite  includes  all  being,  evil  as  well  as  good,  but  as 
evil  is  inconsistent  with  the  goodness  of  God,  as  set  forth 
in  the  Koran,  evil  is  said  to  proceed  from  not-being.  All 
that  exists  is  God,  and  nothing  exists  apart  from  him.' 

It  is  not  difficult  to  see  how,  on  the  basis  of  such  a 
philosophical  system,  the  Babites  hold  that  certain  men 
are  as  truly  mirrors  of  deity  as  Jesus  Christ  was.  Indeed, 
Abbas  Effendi  pressed  this  illustration  upon  me  as  ex- 
plaining the  incarnation.  Holiness  of  character  is  not 
necessary  to  the  idea'of  such  an  incarnation:  "To  the 
man  of  God  right  and  wrong  are  alike." 

Sinlessness,  then,  is  not  indispensable  to  any  of  these 
incarnations.  Indeed,  it  is  not  claimed  for  Ali,  or  Hakim, 
or  the  Bab,  or  Beha,  or  Abbas  Effendi. 

If  we  turn  to  the  Old  Testament  we  shall  find  a  prac- 
tical tendency  of  the  Semitic  mind  to  deify  man.  This 
may  be  a  survival  of  a  time  when  the  distinction  between 
gods  and  men  was  not  sharply  drawn,  to  which  allusion 
has  already  been  made.  At  any  rate,  men  have  the  term 
god  applied  to  them  in  the  Old  Testament.  Jesus  Christ 
himself  alludes  to  this  when  he  says:  "If  he  called  them 
gods,  unto  whom  the  word  of  God  came."  '^     This  refers 

■  Sell,  op.  cit.,  pp.  3  ff. 
^John  X.  35. 


no         PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC   RELIGION   TO-DAY 

to  certain  passages  where  judges  and  rulers  are  termed 
Elohim.'  We  find  a  similar  usage  in  the  Tell-el-Amarna 
tablets.  Various  kinglets,  including  those  of  Beirut, 
Sidon,  Tyre,  Hazor,  Jaffa,  Lachish,  and  others,  in 
writing  to  the  king  of  Egypt,  address  him  as  "my  gods" 
(ilani-jd).  Thus  Abi-milki  of  Tyre  writes:  "To  my 
lord,  the  king,  my  sun,  my  gods."  ^ 

Following  the  same  analogy,  we  seem  to  have  in  the 
forty-fifth  psalm  a  conspicuous  example  of  the  deification 
of  a  Messianic  king.  The  psalm,  according  to  modern 
interpreters,  celebrates  the  nuptials  of  a  prince  and 
princess.  There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  the 
prince  was  of  the  house  of  David,  perhaps  Joram,  and 
the  princess  of  the  northern  kingdom,  Athaliah,  the 
daughter  of  Ahab  and  Jezebel.  This  is  a  theory  which 
was  held  by  Delitzsch,  which  I  rejected  when  he  stated 
it  to  me  in  the  first  critical  work  that  he  assigned  me. 
But  now  it  seems  to  me  far  more  probable  than  any  other 
theory  which  has  been  proposed.  All  the  historical 
allusions  seem  to  me  to  point  this  way.  In  a  single 
verse  which,  as  an  epitaph,  sums  up  the  achievements  of 
Ahab's  reign,  only  two  are  mentioned,  "the  ivory  house 
which  he  built,  and  all  the  cities  that  he  built."  '  Hence, 
the  erection  of  an  ivory  house  is  made  exceedingly  con- 
spicuous as  it  could  hardly  have  been,  if  such  a  palace 
had  been  built  before.  It  is  also  said  that  the  Tyrians 
{bath  Zur)  would  be  there  with  a  gift,  which  would  well 
be  the  case  when  the  daughter  of  Jezebel  was  to  be 
married.  Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that  this  is  an 
earthly  king,  for  not  only  his  queen,  but  also,  according  to 

'Ex.  xxi.  6;  xxii.  7-9;  i  Sam.  ii.  25;  Ps.  Ixxxii.  I. 
^Winckler,  The  Tell-el-Amarna- Letters,  New  York,  1896,  in 
loc. 

^i  Kings  xxii.  39. 


DEIFIED    MEN  I  I  I 

the  customs  of  the  times,  his  harem  is  mentioned. 
There  is  also  the  hope  expressed  of  a  numerous  poster- 
ity: "Instead  of  thy  fathers  shall  be  thy  children,  whom 
thou  shalt  make  princes  in  all  the  earth. "  *  These  are  to 
take  the  place  of  their  ancestors.  When,  therefore,  this 
king  is  addressed,  "Thy  throne,  Elohim,  is  forever  and 
ever;  a  scepter  of  equity  is  the  scepter  of  thy  kingdom. 
Thou  hast  loved  righteousness,  and  hated  wickedness. 
Therefore,  Elohim,  thy  Elohim,  hath  anointed  thee  with 
the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows,"  we  have  the  same 
term  applied  here  to  the  Messianic  king  as  to  the  theo- 
cratic judge,  who,  each  in  his  place,  was  regarded  as  a 
representative  of  God.  The  fact  that  the  historical 
Joram  fell  so  far  below  the  ideal  of  the  Messianic  king 
who  was  to  wage  war  in  behalf  of  truth  and  of  the  lowly 
but  righteous  ones,  could  not  affect  the  hopes  of  the 
psalmist,  who  found  in  the  union  of  a  prince  of  the  south- 
ern kingdom  with  a  princess  of  the  northern  an  occasion 
to  paint  an  ideal  of  Messianic  hopes  and  expectations, 
colored  by  the  conceptions  of  the  time,  but  which  the 
Spirit  of  God  does  not  find  an  unworthy  medium  in  New 
Testament  times,  setting  aside  the  purely  local  features, 
for  expressing  the  divine  sonship  of  Jesus  Christ.^ 

'  Ps.  xlv.  12-16, 
^Heb.  i.  8.9. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  PHYSICAL  RELATION  OF  MAN  TO  GOD 

In  the  discussion  of  primitive  Semitic  religion  to-day, 
it  is  necessary  for  us  to  consider  the  physical  relation  of 
man  to  God.  But  only  rather  obscure  traces  are  to  be 
found  of  the  physical  fatherhood  of  Deity  among  modern 
Semites.  The  subject  cannot  be  discussed  by  making 
use  of  veiled  expressions.  I  shall  try  not  to  offend 
against  delicacy,  but  must  use  words  which  are  unam- 
biguous. 

There  is  perhaps  no  clear  proof  of  the  existence  of  the 
notion  that  God  is  the  father  of  a  clan,  tribe,  or  family. 
For  this  there  is  a  sufficient  reason  in  the  fact  that  such 
an  idea  would  be  most  repugnant  to  Islam  as  well  as  to 
ancient  Christianity.  Here,  if  anywhere,  old  Semitic 
ideas  should  have  become  extinct.'  I  can  present  only 
such  hints  as  I  have  found  in  certain  expressions  and 
usages,  and  leave  the  reader  to  draw  his  own  conclusions. 
These  hints  are  not  limited  to  the  representations  of  God, 
since  it  seems  quite  certain,  that  to  the  ignorant  mind, 
as  I  have  observed,  there  is  practically  no  clear  distinc- 
tion between  the  divine  powers  of  God  himself,  and 
those  of  the  saint,  or  the  departed  spirit;  each  in  his 
own  domain  may  exercise  an  authority,  which  to  the 
simple  peasant,  or  the  Bedouin,  is  what  we  should  term 
supernatural  and  divine.^ 

We  have  seen  how  the  conceptions  of  God  are  human- 

1  For  these  ideas,  see  W.  Robertson  Smith,  Lectures  on  the 
Religion  of  the  Semites,  New  York,  1889,  pp.  41-43- 

'  P.  77- 

112 


THE    PHYSICAL    RELATION    OF    MAN   TO    GOD       II 3 

ized,  while  those  of  "the  saints"  are  deified.  We  need, 
therefore,  in  order  to  make  an  intelligent  induction,  to 
examine  every  expression,  or  usage,  which  indicates  that 
spiritual  existences  may  have  the  power  of  fatherhood. 
It  is  certain  that  we  cannot  be  sure  of  finding  such  traces 
at  any  given  point,  but  coming  to  us  from  many  points, 
often  unexpectedly,  they  may  be  none  the  less  significant. 
Were  we  to  ask  the  question,  "Is  there  evidence  that 
God  is  regarded  as  the  physical  father  of  any  clan,  tribe, 
or  people  among  the  modern  Semites?"  we  should  be 
compelled,  as  far  as  my  investigations  have  gone,  to 
answer,  "No."  There  is  no  such  clear-cut  statement, 
so  far  as  I  am  aware,  of  a  belief  among  the  modern 
Semites  of  the  physical  fatherhood  of  Deity,  such  as  is 
said  to  exist  among  the  Tongas,  who  affirm,  "God  had 
three  sons,  the  whites,  the  Zulus,  and  the  Tongas."  ' 

I  found  the  investigation  leading  to  data  necessary 
in  order  to  form  a  conclusion,  delicate  and  difficult.  Not 
because  the  modern  Semite  hesitates  to  discuss  such 
themes,  quite  the  contrary;  but  because  the  facts 
which  have  a  bearing  upon  the  subject  are  more  likely 
to  come  to  light  by  indirection  and  when  least  expected, 
than  by  any  formal  inquiries. 

There  seem  to  be  pretty  clear  indications  that  igno- 
rant Moslems  and  Christians  conceive  of  God  as  pos- 
sessed of  a  complete  male  organism,  and  that  this  is  not 
merely  popular  language.  Moslems  at  Hamath,  in 
northern  Syria,  swear  by  God's  phallus.^  In  the  village 
of  Bludan,  about  twenty-five  miles  west  from  Damascus, 
which  is  composed  of  Greek  Christians  of  a  very  low 
type,  the   same  oath  is  heard  on  the   lips  of  women, 

» Personal  Interview,  W.  L.  Thompson,  M.  D.,  missionary  of 
the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  Mt.  Silinda,  East  Central  Africa. 
^Journal  XI.,  summer  of  1901. 


114  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

who  sometimes  are  so  shameless  as  to  giggle  when  using 
it,  thus  showing  that  they  are  conscious  of  its  meaning.' 
Another  form  of  oath  of  a  similar  sort  may  be  heard  in 
Nebk,  in  the  Syrian  desert,  and  at  Zebedani.^ 

At  Kerak,  whenever  there  is  a  drought,  the  Greek 
Christians  dress  a  winnowing  fork  in  women's  clothes. 
This  they  call  "the  bride  of  God."  The  girls  and 
women  carry  it  from  house  to  house,  singing  doggerel 
songs.*  This  expression,  "bride  of  God,"  naturally 
reminds  us  of  the  "bride  of  the  Nile,"  who,  according 
to  a  tradition  given  by  Lane,  was  anciently  thrown  into 
the  arms  of  the  river  god,  when  the  water  began  to  rise.* 

There  is  a  further  illustration,  from  another  country, 
which  shows  how  far  superstition  may  descend  in  lower- 
ing the  conception  of  God.  Some  ignorant  members  of 
the  Greek  Church  in  Syria  speak  of  the  Virgin  Mary  as 
the  "bride  of  God."  We  do  not  know  what  they  may 
understand  by  this  term,  but  in  Porto  Rico  a  Catholic 
was  living  openly  with  a  woman  to  whom  he  was  not 
married.  When  rebuked  by  a  Syrian,  who  was  residing 
in  that  country,  he  replied  that  there  was  no  wrong  in 
what  he  was  doing,  for  he  was  simply  following  the 
example  of  God,  who  still  lived  with  the  Virgin  Mary.^ 

'  Testimony  of  Rev.  J.  Stewart  Crawford,  who  has  his  summer 
home  at  Bludan. 

2  Suleiman,  teacher  in  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Mission  at  Nebk, 
and  Abdullah,  teacher  in  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission  at 
Hamath. 

3  Letter  from  Mr.  Henry  G.  Harding,  formerly  of  Kerak,  now 
of  Gaza,  of  the  Medical  Mission  of  the  C.  M.  S.  of  Great  Britain; 
of.  Frazer,  The  Golden  Bough,  London,  igoo,  Vol.  I.,  pp.95,  213. 

*Lane,  An  Account  of  the  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Mod- 
ern Egyptians,  London,  1896,  p.  500:  "  The  Arab  general  was  told 
that  the  Egyptians  were  accustomed  at  the  period  when  the  Nile 
began  to  rise  to  deck  a  young  virgin  in  gay  apparel,  and  throw  her 
into  the  river  as  a  sacrifice  to  obtain  a  plentiful  inundation." 

*  Journal  XI. 


THE    PHYSICAL    RELATION   OF    MAN   TO    GOD       II 5 

Among  the  Ismailiyeh  there  is  said  to  be  a  sacred 
maiden,  whose  distinctive  features,  eyes,  and  color  of 
hair  are  known  from  their  holy  books,  and  whose  body 
is  considered  the  abode  of  Deity.  She  is  introduced  into 
the  sacred  assemblies  of  the  initiated,  and  stands  exposed 
before  them.  She  was  once  seen  for  a  moment  by  a 
Protestant  Syrian,  who  went  to  call  on  an  intimate  friend 
among  the  Ismailiyeh.  Fearing  for  his  life  he  fled,  and 
emigrated  to  a  foreign  land.  This  sacred  maiden  is  said 
to  be  descended  from  the  Son  of  God.' 

Procreative  power  is  attributed  by  the  Syrians  to  the 
spirits  of  the  dead.  It  is  well  known  that  they  affirm 
that  the  jinn  may  have  sexual  intercourse  with  men  and 
women;  of  this  fact  Baldersperger  has  given  some  fresh 
examples.^  It  is  said  that  women  sometimes  find  that 
their  best  gowns,  which  they  had  carefully  locked  up  in 
their  bridal  chests,  have  been  worn  and  soiled  by  female 
spirits  during  their  confinement,  because  they  did  not 
utter  the  name  of  God  when  they  were  locking  them  up.^ 
But  the  view  that  the  spirits  of  the  dead  may  beget  chil- 
dren is  held  to  the  extent  that  it  is  believed  a  widow 
may  conceive  by  her  husband,  for  nine  months  after  his 
death.  It  is  said  that  a  woman  at  Nebk  took  the  bath 
of  ceremonial  purification  *  because  she  dreamed  she 
had  received  a  visit  from  her  deceased  husband. 

'The  custom  to  which  allusion  is  made  has  been  repeatedly 
charged  to  the  Nusairiyeh,  and  as  often  denied  by  Protestants 
who  know  them  intimately.  The  circumstance  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  Ismailiyeh  was  detailed  to  me  by  a  credible 
witness,  who  heard  it  from  the  Syrian,  with  whom  he  was  well 
acquainted,  and  who  was  compelled  to  flee  for  his  life.  The  point 
of  this  incident  is  that  this  young  woman  is  alleged  to  be  directly 
descended  from  the  Son  of  God. 

2  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  Quarterly  Statement  for  1899, 
London,  pp.  148,  149. 

^Journal  X.,  Nebk,  summer  of  1901. 

Mbid.    Cf.  Lev.  XV.  18. 


Il6  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

There  is  a  man  in  Nebk  who  is  currently  believed  to 
be  the  offspring  of  such  a  union,  and  no  reproach  was 
ever  cast  upon  his  mother.  There  is  also  a  person  in 
Nebk  who  is  considered,  by  simple  people,  to  be  the 
child  of  a  jinn. 

Another  form  of  the  same  belief  is  doubtless  in  a 
singular  custom,  of  which  I  have  heard  of  two  examples. 
When  a  man  had  been  executed  for  murder  at  the  Jaffa 
gate  in  Jerusalem,  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  some 
barren  woman  rushed  up  to  the  corpse.'  It  may  be  that 
they  felt  that,  inasmuch  as  the  man  had  been  released 
by  death  from  previous  nuptials,  and  was  free,  as  a  dis- 
embodied spirit,  he  was  endowed  with  supernatural  power 
to  give  them  the  joy  of  motherhood  by  proximity  to  his 
dead  body. 

We  also  seem  to  find  the  same  idea  in  the  connection 
of  barren  women  with  the  spirits  of  sacred  shrines  of 
various  sorts,  or  with  those  whom,  in  their  ignorance, 
they  suppose  to  be  spirits. 

It  is  said  that  they  visit  the  hot  springs  at  a  certain 
place,  of  which  the  name  is  unknown  to  me,  and  take 
practically  a  steam  bath,  the  well  being  considered  by 
them  as  the  source  of  the  vapors. 

About  four  hours  from  Karyaten,  on  the  way  to  Sadad 
(the  Zedad  of  Scripture),^  are  the  so-called  baths  of 
Solomon,  where  there  are  extensive  ruins  of  buildings  on 
a  grand  scale.  Only  part  of  the  arches  that  supported 
the  superstructure  now  remain.  There  are  three  places 
where  the  hot  air  comes  out  of  the  ground,  many  yards 
apart.  One  of  these  is  in  the  floor  of  a  room  of  con- 
siderable size,  with  walls  and  a  roof  of  stone.     The  heat 

1  Journal  VIIL,  summer  of  1900,  Rev.  J.Edward  Hanauer  of 
Christ  Church,  Jerusalem.    Cf.  Lane  op.  cit.,  p.  267. 

2  Num.  xxxiv.  8. 


THE    PHYSICAL    RELATION    OF    MAN    TO    GOD       II 7 

is  SO  intense  that  it  is  not  possible  to  endure  it  many 
minutes.  The  other  hot  air  vents  are  in  the  field.  One  of 
these,  called  Abu  Rabah,  is  a  famous  shrine  for  women 
who  are  barren  and  desire  children.  They  really  regard 
the  weli  of  the  shrine  as  the  father  of  children  born 
after  such  a  visit,  as  appears  from  the  rendering  of  an 
Arabic  couplet,  which  they  repeat  as  they  go  inside  the 
small  inclosure,  consisting  of  a  rude  stone  wall  about  four 
feet  high,  and  allow  the  hot  air  to  stream  up  their  bodies. 

"Oh,  Abu  Rabah! 
To  thee  come  the  white  ones, 
To  thee  come  the  fair  ones; 
With  thee  is  the  generation, 
With  us  is  the  conception." 

The  native  teacher's  wife  said  she  knew  of  two  barren 
women  who  had  recently  had  children  after  visiting  this 
shrine.  When  a  child  is  born  as  the  result  of  such  a 
visit,  it  is  customary,  after  the  immolation  of  the  victim, 
to  partake  of  a  meal  which  is  eaten  in  the  shade  of  the 
vaulted  ruin  near  by,  and  to  which  the  friends  of  the 
family  from  the  neighboring  villages  are  invited.' 

Almost  equally  significant  is  another  curious  custom 
in  connection  with  some  of  the  channels  of  the  Orontes, 
used  for  irrigation.  During  a  certain  season  of  the  year, 
the  water  is  turned  off  and  the  channels  are  cleared  of 
mud  and  any  matter  which  might  clog  the  flow  of  the 
water.  The  first  night  that  the  water  is  turned  on  it  is 
said  to  have  the  power  of  procreation  (it  is  called  dekr). 
Barren  women  take  their  places  in  the  channel,  waiting 
for  the  embrace  of  the  water  spirit  in  the  onrush  of  the 
stream.' 

Naturally    there    are    also    shrines    to    which    barren 

'Journal  L,  Karyaten,  autumn  of  1898,  Syrian  teacher's  wife. 
'Journal  XII.,  Homs  and  Braigh. 


Il8  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

women  go  that  they  may  have  the  reproach  of  childless- 
ness removed.  Sometimes  the  woman  stands  at  a  Chris- 
tian shrine  below  one  of  the  saint's  pictures,  covered 
with  a  wire  netting  with  some  projecting  points,  and 
taking  her  head-dress  in  her  hand,  tries  to  drive  a  sharp 
bargain  with  the  saint  for  the  gift  of  the  desired  child. 
Giving  the  cloth  a  fling  toward  the  wire  netting,  she  bids 
one  piastre;^  if  it  catches  on  one  of  the  projections,  she 
considers  it  a  sign  that  the  saint  will  give  her  a  child, 
and  that  after  its  birth  she  is  to  pay  the  sum  of  one 
piastre.  If,  however,  the  cloth  falls,  she  understands 
that  her  offer  has  been  rejected,  and  that  the  saint  insists 
on  more  money;  so  raising  up  the  cloth,  she  gives  it 
another  fling,  and  says,  "two  piastres."  This  she  does 
until  it  catches.  When  this  takes  place  she  goes  away 
in  the  firm  belief  she  is  to  have  a  son,  and  with  the 
understanding  that  when  he  is  born  she  is  to  bring  to  the 
shrine  the  sum  last  named. 

There  are,  however,  barren  women  of  all  sects,  includ- 
ing Moslems,  who  go  to  the  shrine  of  the  most  powerful 
saint  in  all  Syria.  There  are  many  natives  who  shrug 
their  shoulders  when  this  shrine  is  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  women.  But  it  is  doubtless  true  that  many  do 
not  know  what  seems  to  be  its  true  character,  and  who 
think  that  the  most  puissant  saint,  as  they  believe,  in 
the  world  can  give  them  sons.  Why  should  not  ignor- 
ance and  superstition,  in  the  eagerness  for  children,  in 
some  cases  be  unsuspicious?  If  a  dead  husband  can  be 
the  parent  of  a  child;  if  Abu  Rabah  can  give  seed;  if  a 
woman  can  conceive  by  a  water  spirit;  why  should  she 
not  believe  a  monkish  tale  that  St.  George  {Mar  Jirjis) 
will  be  a  husband  to  her  and  give  her  conception? 

The  famous  shrine  of  St.  George  was  once  visited  by 

1  Journal  I.,  Safita,  autumn  of  1898. 


THE    PHYSICAL   RELATION    OF    MAN   TO    GOD       I  I9 

many  Moslem  women  who  desired  offspring,  and  who 
went  with  the  full  consent  of  their  husbands.  But  the 
true  character  of  the  place  is  beginning  to  be  recognized, 
so  that  many  Moslems  have  forbidden  their  wives  to 
visit  it.* 

There  is  a  cave  at  Juneh  in  which  there  is  a  pool  of 
water  to  which  the  same  power  is  attributed.  The  natives 
believe  that  a  childless  couple  who  bathe  in  the  waters  of 
this  cave  will  have  children.  Undoubtedly  the  cave  is 
supposed  by  them  to  be  inhabited  by  a  weli,  who  has,  as 
the  peasants  think,  the  power  to  make  a  barren  mar- 
riage fruitful.^ 

To  sum  up,  the  idea  that  a  weli  may  be  a  physical 
father  is  one  of  which  there  is  more  than  one  example, 
and  the  notion  is  currently  believed,  as  we  have  seen, 
that  disembodied  spirits  may  still  beget  children  from 
mortal  women,  either  those  who  have  been  their  own 
wives,  or  from  others;  while  it  is  commonly  held  that  a 
jinn  may  have  an  earthly  wife,  or  that  a  man  may  have 
a  spirit  wife  who  will  not  tolerate  his  looking  at  any 
woman.  These  phenomena  seem  to  point  back  to  a 
time,  already  considered,  when  there  was  no  distinction 
between  God,  the  weli,  the  departed  spirit,  and  the  jinn. 
Hence  the  being  to  whom  the  Semite  did  homage  was 
endowed  with  physical  fatherhood.  If,  now,  we  regard 
the  departed  spirit,  who  is  held  in  love  and  reverence, 
hence  enjoys  the  title  of  weli,  as  the  only  deity  who  has 
any  practical  bearing  on  the  life  of  the  modern  Semite, 
we  may  claim  that  the  idea  of  the  physical  fatherhood  of 
deity  still  exists. 

'Journal  XII.,  village  near  Hamath.  I  liad  one  incident 
described  to  me  from  the  lips  of  a  man  who  visited  the  shrine,  and 
who  is  one  of  the  most  trustworthy  in  all  Syria. 

'Journal  X.,  Beirut,  William  Van  Dyck,  M.  D. 


I20  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

There  are  various  indications  of  a  relationship  between 
men  and  divine  beings.  The  term  vveli,  as  I  have 
shown,  indicates  the  one  who  may  be  nearest  of  kin, 
hence  the  one,  according  to  the  Arabic  version,  to  marry 
the  childless  widow  of  a  brother,  or  of  one  closely  re- 
lated. 

From  this  point  of  view,  it  is  perhaps  significant  that 
the  grave  of  the  well  is  often,  among  the  graves  of  his 
tribe  or  clan,  the  most  conspicuous  of  them  all.* 

But  more  than  this,  there  are  clans  and  families  who 
claim  to  have  sprung  from  one  original  ancestor,  who  is 
also  a  patron  saint  or  well.  These  are  to  be  found  among 
certain  tribes  of  Arabs.^  While,  as  we  have  seen,  some 
of  the  Nusairiyeh  make  such  high  claims  for  Ali  as  to 
deny  that  he  had  children,  there  are  others  who  claim 
that  they  are  descended  from  Ali  through  Nusair. 

The  idea  that  God  may  have  sons  by  physical  genera- 
tion is  common  among  all  peoples  who  speak  of  him  as 
a  man.  There  is  one  passage  in  the  Old  Testament 
which  seems  to  have  taken  its  color  from  such  an  old 
Semitic  conception.  I  refer  to  Gen.  vi.  1-4:  "And  it 
came  to  pass,  when  men  began  to  multiply  on  the  face 
of  the  ground,  and  daughters  were  born  unto  them,  that 
the  sons  of  God  {be7iai  Elohitri)  saw  the  daughters  of  men 
that  they  were  fair;  and  they  took  them  wives  of  all  that 

they  chose The   Nephilim  were  in  the  earth   in 

those  days,  and  also  after  that,  when  the  sons  of  God 

>  Personal  observation  in  many  parts  of  the  country. 

2Ebers,  Durch  Gosen  Zum  Sinai,  Leipzig,  1872,  p.  239:  "Die 
Sawaleha-Beduinen  halten  Schech  Salih  fur  ihren  Anherrn  und 
glauben,  dass  er  ihrem  Stamme  den  Namen  gegeben."  Cf.  Jour- 
nal XII.,  interview  with  the  chief  of  the  Rawaeein  at  Mehardeh: 
"They  make  their  vows  to  patron  saints,  and  these  are  mostly 
progenitors  of  tribes."  .  .  .  We  inferred  that  the  subdivisions 
of  the  Aneze  and  others  have  patron  saints.  As  to  the  descent  of 
the  Nusairiyeh,  Journal  XL,  at  Behammra. 


THE    PHYSICAL    RELATION    OF    MAN    TO    GOD       12  1 

came  in  unto  the  daughters  of  men,  and  they  bare  children 
to  them;  the  same  were  the  mighty  men  which  were  of 
old,  the  men  of  renown."  In  the  light  of  Semitic  modes 
of  thought,  I  do  not  think  the  interpretation  which  has 
been  regnant  in  certain  circles  since  the  time  of  Augus- 
tine and  Chrysostom,  that  the  sons  of  God  were  the  pious 
Sethites  and  the  daughters  of  men  were  Canaanitish 
women,  was  at  all  intended  by  the  writer.  It  is  question- 
able, too,  whether  angelic  beings,  as  we  understand  the 
term,  were  intended.  So  far  as  the  meaning  of  the  pas- 
sage is  concerned,  were  not  the  Sethites  men?  Did  they 
not  begin  to  multiply  upon  the  earth?  Did  they  not 
have  daughters  born  to  them?  Were  there  not  fair 
women  among  them?  It  seems  to  me  that  nothing  but  a 
desire  to  render  the  scriptural  narrative  edifying  has  led 
to  this  traditional  interpretation,  which  is  clearly  alle- 
gorical. I  am  well  aware  that  the  term  "son,"  in  Semitic 
speech,  is  often  not  to  be  taken  too  literally,  but  here  it 
certainly  indicates  superhuman  beings,  at  least  what  we 
might  call  demigods.  Out  of  their  connection  with 
earthly  women  are  born  men  of  extraordinary  physical 
development.  We  are  no  more  to  go  to  such  a  passage 
for  doctrine  than  to  other  passages  in  the  Old  Testament 
for  teaching  regarding  the  future  state.'  We  are  not, 
however,  to  suppose  that  any  Old  Testament  writer 
thought  of  God  as  a  physical  father,  though  some  appear 
to  speak  of  heathen  gods  as  if  they  were  real  existences. 
We  have,  as  it  seems  to  me,  the  true  reading  given  by 
Wellhausen,  in  the  Polychrome  text  of  Ps.  Iviii.  i : 

"  Speak  ye  indeed  what  is  right  ye  gods? 
Do  ye  judge  men  without  partiality? 
Nay,  rather,  on  earth  are  your  judgments  confusion, 
Your  hands  weigh  out  what  is  wrong." 

'Job  iii.  13-18;  Is.  xiv.  9,  10. 


122  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

It  is  from  this  point  of  view,  in  whicli  the  writer 
acknowledges  their  real  existence,  that  Wellhausen  well 
says:  "The  gods  are  not  human  rulers.  They  are  divini- 
ties worshiped  by  the  heathen,  and  placed  by  Jhvh  at 
the  head  of  the  nations,  Ps.  xxix.  Ixxxii.  They  are  held 
responsible  for  the  conduct  of  their  subjects.  If  they  are 
righteous  gods,  they  must  maintain  righteousness  and 
justice  within  their  domain.  In  point  of  fact,  their  rule 
is  thoroughly  discredited  by  the  disorderliness  and  licen- 
tiousness of  their  subjects  (v.  3-5) Seeing,  then, 

that  they  fail  in  their  duty,  or  are  incompetent  for  their 
task,  Jhvh  himself  must  interpose,  and  execute  justice 
against  the  heathen,  in  order  that  it  may  be  seen  that 
there  is  one  Supreme  Deity  upon  the  earth  who  judges." 

So  the  sons  of  God,  whoever  they  may  be,  come  to 
present  themselves  before  the  Lord,  as  if  he  held  a  court 
like  an  earthly  king.  Hence,  the  writer  sees  no  impro- 
priety in  the  Adversary  presenting  himself  also,  and 
receiving  permission  to  lay  his  hand  on  Job.^  It  is  thus 
that  an  ancient  Semitic  conception  of  divine  beings, 
called  Elohim,  but  not  regarded  as  men,  is  alluded  to  in 
a  way  which  would  escape  the  reader  of  the  ordinary 
English  version.  While  the  Old  Testament  writers  never 
conceive  of  men  as  having  physical  relations  to  God, 
they  do  not  hesitate  to  speak  of  the  sons  of  God  as 
having  children,  as  we  have  seen,  or  of  heathen  gods  as 
having  offspring.  This  appears  from  two  passages 
quoted  by  W.  Robertson  Smith  :  ^ 

"  Woe  to  thee,  Moab! 
Thou  art  undone,  O  people  of  Chemosh: 
He  hath  given  his  sons  as  fugitives, 
And  his  daughters  into  captivity, 
Unto  Sihon  king  of  the  Amorites."^ 

*  Job  1.  6-12;  ii.  1-6.      2  Op.  cit.,  pp.  42,  43.      ^  Num.  xxi.  29. 


THE  PHYSICAL  RELATION  OF  MAN  TO  GOD   1 23 

Here,  then,  it  is  the  Moabite  god  Chemosh  who  gives 
up  his  children.  The  phraseology  of  the  following  pas- 
sage in  this  connection  is  very  significant:  "Judah  hath 
profaned  the  holiness  [sanctuary]  of  the  Lord  which  he 
loveth,  and  hath  married  the  daughter  of  a  strange 
god."  *  This  view  of  the  heathen  divinity,  like  that  in 
the  passages  cited  above,  looks  upon  them  as  real  exist- 
ences, who  have  the  power  of  physical  fatherhood.  The 
ancient  as  well  as  the  modern  Semite  did  not  philoso- 
phize, nor  see  an^  inconsistency  in  acknowledging  the 
existence  of  heathen  deities,  as  subordinate  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  God,  and  as  having  children,  like  the 
Moabites,  who  were  sprung  from  their  loins.  In  the 
same  way,  while  the  modern  Semite  does  not  clearly 
think  of  God  as  procreator,  he  certainly  holds  that  a 
disembodied  spirit,  whether  that  of  an  ordinary  man,  or 
of  a  weli,  can  become  a  physical  father. 

'Mai,  ii.  II. 


CHAPTER  X 

MORAL  RELATION  OF  MAN  TO  GOD 

We  have  seen  that  to  the  ignorant  man  or  woman,  a 
spirit,  a  departed  ancestor,  or  saint  may  stand  in  the 
place  of  deity.'  It  is  important  that  we  should  consider 
the  relations  of  the  people  to  such  a  being. 

Theoretically  there  is  syncretism.  The  Moslem, 
everywhere,  confesses  that  he  believes  in  one  God,  but 
the  Fellahin,  the  Arabs,  and  the  Bedouin,  not  to  speak 
of  many  others,  including  multitudes  of  women,  believe 
a  great  deal  more  firmly  in  some  well  or  spirit,  as  the  one 
who  can  help  in  the  time  of  trouble.  God  is  far  away,  the 
spirit  or  saint  is  near.  God  is  so  far  away  that  the  con- 
sciousness of  him  seems  to  be  lost  as  a  force  in  life.  If 
any  one  doubts  this,  let  him  travel  from  one  end  of  Syria, 
through  Palestine  to  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula,  and  observe 
how  the  sacred  shrines  dominate  almost  every  hilltop; 
how  they  are  to  be  found  in  almost  every  village;  how 
they  are  in  the  wilderness,  apart  from  any  human  habi- 
tation, where  the  nomads  can  insure  the  safety  of  their 
flocks  from  disease,  from  wild  beasts,  and  raids  of  hos- 
tile tribes,  by  timely  vows.  Let  him  interview  the  people 
and  he  will  find  that  the  saint  is  a  real  force  in  their  lives. 

In  considering  the  relation  of  man  to  God,  to  saint, 
or  spirit  we  have  to  deal  with  one  word  which  furnishes 
the  key.  That  word  is  known  among  us  as  sin;  among 
the  modern  Semites  it  is  often  equivalent  to  misfortune; 
that  is,  sin  and  misfortune  are  practically  correlative 
terms  among  the  ignorant.      Rev.  W.  K.  Eddy,  of  Sidon, 

'  See  pp.  T],  94. 

124 


MORAL    RELATION    OF    MAN   TO    GOD  12$ 

who  was  born  in  Syria,  and  who  knows  the  language  and 
customs  of  the  people  thoroughly,  says  that  it  is  a  com- 
mon expression  among  the  people  to-day:  "O  Lord, 
what  is  my  sin"  {ya  rtibb  khattiti)}  It  is  to  be  doubted, 
whether  there  is  much  consciousness  of  sin  among  the 
ignorant,  without  misfortune.  There  are  indeed  two 
crimes  that  are  often  acknowledged  as  shameful,  and 
hence  as  sins;  these  are  adultery  and  murder/  But 
even  the  latter,  when  undertaken  on  a  raid  or  in  blood 
revenge,  is,  in  the  estimation  of  the  modern  Semite,  no 
murder.  Doubtless  there  are  lawless  men  among  the 
Bedouin,  who,  in  their  thoughts  of  a  future  life,  owing  to 
the  instruction  of  the  sheiks  of  Islam,  may  confess  that 
they  are  fit  candidates  for  the  fire.^  But  the  great  mass 
of  the  sons  of  the  desert,  if  they  give  any  thought  to  the 
matter  at  all,  doubtless  have  the  spirit  of  bravado  and 
assurance  expressed  in  the  language  of  one  of  them,  as 
reported  by  Palgrave:  " 'What  will  you  do  on  coming 
into  God's  presence  for  judgment  after  so  graceless  a 
life?'  said  I  one  day  to  a  spirited  young  Sherarat,  whose 
long,  matted  lovelocks,  and  some  pretensions  to  dandi- 
hood,  for  the  desert  has  its  dandies,  too,  amid  all  his 
ragged  accoutrements,  accorded  very  well  with  his  con- 
versation, which  was  nowise  of  the  most  edifying  descrip- 

'  Palgrave,  op.  cit.,  p.  33. 

2  Some  Arabs  told  Miss  T.  Maxwell  Ford  that  they  were  going 
into  the  fire.  Cf.  Doughty,  op.  cit..  Vol.  IL,  pp.  381,  382:  "'And 
tell  me,  what  can  so  bind  to  religion  this  people  full  of  ungodly 
levity  and  deceitful  life?'  '  I  think  it  is  the  fear  of  the  fire  (of  hell) 
that  amazes  their  hearts!  all  the  time  of  their  lives.'  Fire  is  the 
divine  cruelty  of  the  Semitic  religions."  But  in  the  index  Doughty 
qualifies  this  general  statement,  by  applying  it  to  Moslems."  (Ibid., 
p.  580.  "Fire  of  hell!  'the  dread  of —  in  Moslem  hearts.'")  It  is 
evident  that  Mohammed  preached  physical  torments,  Koran,  IV., 
50:  "\'erily,  those  who  disbelieve  our  signs,  we  will  broil  them  with 
fire;  whenever  their  skins  are  well  done,  then  we  will  change  them 
for  other  skins,  that  they  may  taste  llie  torment."  Palmer's  trans- 
lation.    Cf.  Ibid.,  xvii.  5-7;  xxxviii.  3-9,  etc. 


126  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

tion.  'What  will  we  do?'  was  his  unhesitating  answer. 
'Why,  we  will  go  up  to  God  and  salute  him,  and  if  he 
proves  hospitable  (gives  us  meat  and  tobacco),  we  will 
stay  with  him ;  if  otherwise,  we  will  mount  our  horses 
and  ride  off.'  This  is  a  fair  specimen  of  Bedouin  ideas 
touching  another  world,  and  were  I  not  afraid  of  an 
indictment  for  profaneness,  I  might  relate  fifty  similar 
anecdotes  at  least.  Nor  did  I  ever  meet,  among  the 
genuine  nomad  tribes,  with  any  individual  who  took  a 
more  spiritual  view,  whether  of  Deity,  of  the  soul  of  man, 
or  of  any  other  disembodied  being  soever.  God  is  for 
them  a  chief,  residing  mainly,  it  would  seem,  in  the  sun, 
with  which,  indeed,  they  in  a  manner  identify  him  .  .  .  . 
somewhat  more  powerful  than  their  own  head  man  .  .  .  . 
but  in  other  respects  of  much  the  same  style  and  char- 
acter. The  spirits  of  their  frequent  ghost  stories  .... 
are,  for  all  their  diabolical  propensities,  very  corporeal 
beings,  and  can  even  intermarry  with  the  human  race. 
....  The  souls  of  the  dead,  for  their  part,  are  little 
better;  they  are  pleased  with,  nay  require,  sacrifices  at 
their  tombs,  and  the  blood  thus  shed  nourishes  and  sa- 
tiates them."  ' 

The  Bedouin  and  ignorant  Syrian  has  every  reason  to 
believe  that  his  relations  with  the  being  he  regards  as 
most  powerful  are  good  until  some  misfortune  comes;  in 
his  misfortune  is  the  evidence  of  his  sin,  and  he  seeks  at 
once  to  put  himself  on  good  terms  with  the  being  he  has 
offended  by  means  of  some  gift. 

The  fact  that  sin  and  misfortune  are  regarded  as 
essentially  synonymous  terms  came  out  in  a  very  impress- 
ive way  in  an  interview  with  some  Nusairiyeh  who  were 
Protestants.  When  visiting  Jendairiyeh,  with  Rev. 
James  S.  Stewart,  missionary  of  the  Reformed  Presby- 

'  Palgrave,  op.  cit.,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  33,  33. 


MORAL    RELATION   OF   MAN   TO    GOD  12/ 

terian  Church  in  northern  Syria,  I  had  a  long  interview 
with  some  of  these  people.  To  get  their  idea  of  the 
reason  for  misfortune,  I  asked  Mr.  Stewart  to  tell  them, 
in  outline,  the  story  of  the  afflictions  which  befell  Job,' 
and  to  ask  them  what  they  thought  about  them.  They 
said  at  once,  ' '  That  man  must  have  been  a  great  sinner. ' ' 
When  they  heard  of  the  man  that  was  born  blind, ^  they 
said,  "Either  that  man  sinned  in  a  previous  state,  or  his 
parents  must  have  sinned."  ^ 

In  another  part  of  Syria  I  heard  of  a  Moslem  whose 
wife,  a  virtuous  woman,  had  borne  him  four  children, 
but  whom  he  adjudged  as  guilty  of  some  secret  sin 
because  the  children  had  died.  He  therefore  proceeded 
to  put  her  away.* 

The  governor  of  a  certain  town  in  Syria  was  considered 
by  the  people  as  a  tyrant.  He  lost  two  sons;  it  was  at 
once  said  that  he  had  been  punished  for  his  unrighteous 
deeds.  The  Syrian  who  related  the  incident,  a  man  of 
wide  observation  and  rare  intelligence,  in  commenting 
on  the  incident,  said  that  when  misfortune  comes  people 
begin  to  think  about  their  sins,  but  do  not  recognize 
them  otherwise. 

Whenever,  then,  any  member  of  a  family  falls  ill,  or  a 
misfortune  of  any  kind  seems  to  impend,  the  conclusion 
is  at  once  reached  by  those  interested,  that  the  saint  is 
offended,  and  that  his  favor  must  be  secured  through  the 
medium  of  some  gift.  Oftentimes  the  one  who  is  afflicted, 
or  some  near  friend  or  relative,  promises  to  give  some- 
thing to  the  saint  if  the  affliction  is  removed;  or  such  a 

'Job  i.  13-19. 

2  John  ix.  I. 

^Journal  XI.  The  Nusairiyeh  as  well  as  the  Druses  believe  in 
the  transmigration  of  souls. 

^Journal  XIU. 


128  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

gift  may  be  paid  unconditionally.  Where  the  orthodox 
view  is  maintained,  that  the  saint  is  an  intercessor  with 
God,  the  vow  is  made  as  payment  for  his  intercession. 
There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  recognition  of  dependence 
upon  the  saints,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  among  the  Bedouin 
and  ignorant  peasants,  except  when  things  go  wrong. 

In  these  respects  the  modern  Semite  has  the  same 
conception  of  misfortune  as  equivalent  to  sin  that  the 
ancient  Semite  had.  Of  this  we  have  a  conspicuous 
example  in  the  case  of  Job's  friends,'  and  even  in  the 
time  of  Christ,  for  he  felt  called  upon  to  correct  the  view 
of  the  populace,  who  held  that  the  eighteen  upon  whom 
the  tower  of  Siloam  fell  were  offenders  above  all  who 
dwelt  in  Jerusalem.^ 

The  same  idea  appears  in  the  Moabite  inscription  of 
King  Mesha.  "Omri  was  king  over  Israel,  and  he 
afflicted  Moab  for  many  days,  because  Chemosh  was 
angry  with  his  land."'  No  reason  is  assigned  for  this 
anger;  it  is  something  with  which  the  king  has  to  reckon. 
Because  the  king  has  suffered  misfortune  he  argues  that 
the  god  must  be  angry  with  him.  The  same  King 
Mesha,  when  the  battle  goes  against  him,  offers  up  his 
first-born  son  to  his  god.  He  would  not  have  done  this 
had  he  not  believed,  because  of  his  defeat,  that  Chemosh 
was  angry  at  him  for  some  sin,  and  that  the  only  way  to 
appease  his  anger  was  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  son. 

Aside  from  the  annual  festivals,  which  are  found  only 
in  connection  with  a  small  number  of  shrines,  there  would 
be  no  gifts  at  the  great  majority,  if  men  and  women  did 
not  fear  some  misfortune,  or  were  not  in  actual  danger 

'Job  iv.  7;  viii.  6;  xxii.  5-10. 
2  Luke  xiii.  1-5. 

8  The  Inscription  of  Mesha,  vs.  4-6.  Driver,  Notes  on  the 
Hebrew  Text  of^the  Book  of  Samuel,  Oxford,  1890,  p.  Ixxxvii. 


MORAL    RELATION    OF    MAN    TO    GOD  I29 

of  it.  In  other  words,  there  would  be  no  sense  of  depend- 
ence on  these  welis;  their  cult  would  end.  The  modern 
Semite  feels  as  dependent  on  their  favor  as  the  ancient 
Semite  did  upon  the  favor  of  the  Baalim  for  good  har- 
vests. The  motive  for  vows,  gifts,  sacrifices  is  in  both 
cases  the  same. 

The  consciousness  of  sin  as  actual  guilt  is  not  ordi- 
narily very  strong  among  the  Arabs  and  the  Fellahin. 
They  fear  to  swear  falsely  by  their  saints,  but  it  is  not 
because  of  the  sin  of  false  swearing.  They  swear  falsely 
by  God  without  the  slightest  compunctions,  because  they 
think  that  he  is  forgiving,  and  will  not  notice  this  misap- 
propriation of  his  name.  They  fear  to  swear  falsely  by 
the  saints,  because  they  are  afraid  of  their  anger,  and  so 
of  their  punishment.  If  they  have  promised  anything  to 
the  saint  they  are  afraid  to  break  their  word  for  the  same 
reason. 

It  is  notorious  that  the  mouths  of  many  Arabs  and 
Syrians  are  full  of  foulness.  This  is  not  merely  the 
frankness  which  pertains  to  all  the  relations  of  life,  in  a 
way  that  is  sometimes  exceedingly  embarrassing  to  Eng- 
lish and  American  missionary  ladies,  but  it  arises  from 
corrupt  minds.  They  do  not  fear  to  use  such  language, 
although  offensive  to  God,  but  it  is  related  of  the  Nusairi- 
yeh,  that  when  they  visit  a  certain  shrine,  they  refrain 
from  all  obscene  language,  because  offensive  to  the  weli; 
yet  when  they  have  paid  their  vows,  and  are  returning  to 
their  homes,  they  give  free  rein  to  their  tongues. 

The  relation  of  the  modern  Semites  to  the  saints  is 
entirely  different  from  that  to  God.  The  people  are  in 
fear  of  them,  and  seek  to  secure  their  favor  through  gifts, 
and  to  avert  misfortune  by  a  timely  and  satisfactory 
bakshish. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  sin,  as  identified  with  misfor- 


130  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

tune,  comes  to  be  without  ethical  character.  The  con- 
ception of  a  powerful  being,  as  such,  is  much  like  that 
of  an  earthly  ruler,  who  makes  right  and  wrong  by  edict. 
That  which  is  pleasing  to  the  ruler  is  right,  that  which 
is  displeasing  to  him  is  wrong.  It  is  in  this  way  that 
Judah  proposes  that  he  shall  be  regarded  by  his  father, 
if  he  does  not  return  his  brother  Benjamin,  when  he  says: 
"I  will  be  surety  for  him;  at  my  hand  thou  shalt  demand 
him;  if  I  do  not  bring  him  unto  thee  and  set  him  before 
thee,  then  I  shall  have  sinned  against  thee  all  the  days."  ' 

Thus,  by  the  law  of  solidarity,  all  Israel  is  held 
responsible  for  Achan's  disobedience  in  taking  the 
devoted  thing. ^  To  the  ancient  Semite,  as  well  as  to 
the  modern,  spoil  captured  in  battle  would  be  legitimate. 
There  would  be  no  moral  wrong  in  Achan  taking  from 
the  spoil  of  the  enemy,  but  the  command  of  God  made 
that  wrong  which  would  have  been  right  under  other 
circumstances.  So  there  could  ordinarily  have  been  no 
wrong  on  the  part  of  Saul  and  the  people  of  Israel  in 
appropriating  the  spoil  of  the  Amalekites,  but  as  God 
had  decreed  otherwise,  it  became  a  sin.^  Later,  when 
they  fought  against  the  Philistines  and  defeated  them, 
after  the  slaughter  of  Goliath,  and  spoiled  their  camp, 
not  a  word  is  said  by  way  of  reproach.* 

So  long,  then,  as  misfortune  is  regarded  as  equivalent 
to  sin;  so  long  as  good  and  evil  may  come  from  God;  so 
long  as  right  is  not  right  in  itself,  or  wrong,  wrong  by  its 
own  nature;  but  right  and  wrong  are  made  by  God's 
decree,  just  as  by  any  earthly  potentate,  the  conscious- 
ness of  sin,  as  guilt,  is  dulled,  and  men's  minds  are  con- 

•  Gen.  xliii.  9  (Hebrew). 
2  Josh.  vii.  1-12. 

^  I  Sam.  XV.  2-24. 

*  I  Sam.  xvii.  53. 


MORAL    RELATION    OF    ^L\N    TO    GOD  I31 

fused.  The  forbidden  thing  becomes  a  means  of  wrong- 
doing, simply  because  it  is  forbidden,  and  not  with 
respect  to  its  ethical  character,  and  the  relation  of  men 
to  spiritual  beings  becomes  a  matter  of  barter.  If 
bakshish  will  avail  to  cover  over  almost  any  offense 
which  an  Oriental  may  commit  against  his  government, 
it  must  avail  in  dealing  with  the  only  supernatural  powers 
that  he  knows.  Their  favor  may  be  secured  and  their 
anger  turned  aside,  if  a  satisfactory  gift  is  promptly 
made.  Freed,  then,  from  all  dread  in  this  sphere,  what 
need  the  Arab  or  Fellahin,  who  has  not  come  under  the 
dominion  of  the  teaching  of  Islam,  fear  for  the  future? 

On  the  other  hand,  we  find  a  marked  advance  in  the 
conception  of  sin  in  the  best  of  the  Babylonian  peniten- 
tial psalms;'  for  in  these  at  the  first  blush  we  seem  to 
have  reached  a  consciousness  of  guilt  as  profound  as  in 
the  Old  Testament.  But  a  closer  examination  discloses 
the  fact  that  sin  is  still  revealed  through  misfortune, 
through  the  manifestation  of  the  anger  of  some  god  or 
goddess.  It  is  sin,  too,  concerning  whose  character  the 
victim  is  unconscious,  so  that  he  has  no  idea  how  his 
misfortune  has  come  upon  him. 

In  his  trouble  he  seeks  the  help  of  each  known  or 
unknown  god  or  goddess.  In  true  Oriental  fashion, 
after  he  has  called  in  vain  without  any  hand  being  out- 
stretched, he  lies  on  the  ground  sobbing  and  kissing  the 
feet  of  each  god  and  goddess  in  turn.  But  there  is  no 
relief,  and  again  he  makes  piteous  appeal  for  mercy. 
What  can  he  think  in  the  midst  of  such  misfortunes  and 
such  expressions  of  anger  but  that  he  is  a  great  sinner? 

As  a  result  of  this  conclusion,  he  first  makes  a  general 
confession  of  men's  lack  of  insight,  so  that  they  cannot 

'  Zimmern,  Babylonische  Busspsalmen,  Leipzig,  1885.  PP- 
61-66. 


132  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

distinguish  between  good  and  evil,  or  between  those 
things  which  are  pleasing  to  the  divinity  and  those 
which  are  not,  and  then  he  makes  that  pathetic  confes- 
sion of  sin  which  we  find  at  the  end  of  the  psalm,  which 
may  not  be  divorced  from  the  Semitic  idea  of  misfortune 
as  sin: 

"  My  god,  my  sins  are  seven  times  seven,  forgive  my  sins. 
"  My  goddess,  my  sins  are  seven  times  seven,  forgive  my  sins. 
"  Known  and  unknown  god,  my  sins  are  seven  times  seven,  forgive 
my  sins. 

"  Known  and  unknown  goddess,  my  sins  are  seven  times  seven, 
forgive  my  sins. 

"  Forgive  my  sins  and  I  will  bow  myself  before  thee  in  humility. 

"  May  thy  heart   be   glad  as   the   heart   of   a    mother  who  has 

brought  forth. 
"  Be  glad  as  of  a  mother  who  has  brought  forth,  as  of  a  father  who 

has  begotten  a  child. 

It  is  clear  from  the  above  confessions  that  the  Baby- 
lonian had  made  great  progress  beyond  the  primitive 
Semite  in  his  consciousness  of  sin,  and  if  he  could  have 
had  the  teaching  of  an  Isaiah,  he  might  easily  have 
passed  on  to  such  a  discovery  of  the  true  nature  of  sin 
as  is  indicated  by  the  Old  Testament  saints. 


CHAPTER   XI 

HIGH   PLACES  AND   SACRED   SHRINES 

All  readers  of  the  Old  Testament,  whether  scholars  or 
not,  are  familiar  with  the  passages  which  refer  to  high 
places,  and  the  worship  of  the  Baalim.  Modern  critics 
claim  that  according  to  the  most  ancient  documents  the 
patriarchs  and  some  of  the  most  devoted  servants  of  God 
worshiped  at  these  high  places,  and  often  under  sacred 
trees.  Thus  Abraham  builds  his  first  altar  and  receives 
the  first  revelation  which  God  makes  to  him  under  the 
terebinth  of  Moreh,'  which,  according  to  Baudissin, 
signifies  the  terebinth  of  the  prophet;^  that  is,  a  place 
to  which  the  people  of  the  country  came  for  information 
about  those  affairs  which  were  beyond  their  ken. 

The  next  altar  which  he  builds  is  under  the  terebinths 
of  Mamre  in  Hebron.^  Here  he  pitched  his  tent,  and 
here,  in  a  place  recognized  as  sacred,  God  revealed  him- 
self to  him  again.*  In  Beersheba  he  plants  a  tamarisk 
and  calls  on  the  name  of  Jehovah.^  Later  Isaac  builds  an 
altar  there,  and  likewise  calls  on  the  name  of  Jehovah.® 
It  is  at  this  same  place,  and  probably  on  the  same  altar, 
under  the  same  tamarisk,  that  Jacob  offers  sacrifice.'  It 
was  under  an  oak  that  the  angel  of  Jehovah  appeared  to 

'  Gen.  xii.  6  and  7. 

^Studien  Zur  Semitischen  Religionsgeschichte,  Leipzig,  1878, 
Vol.  II.,  p.  224.  I  have  derived  valuable  help  from  the  work 
of  Baudissin  in  the  preparation  of  this  chapter.  Cf.  especially 
Hohendienst  der  Hebraer  in  Realencyclupadie  fiir  Protestant-ische 
Theologie  and  Kirche,  Leipzig,  igoo,  \'ol.  VIII.,  pp.  177-195. 

*Gen.  xiv.  13.  '•Gen.  xviii.  i.  'Gen.  xxi.  33. 

*Gen.  xxvi.  25.  'Gen.  xivi.  i. 

133 


134  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC   RELIGION    TO-DAY 

Gideon,  and  it  was  under  the  same  oak  that  he  built  an 
altar.'  It  is  at  the  oak  in  Shechem  that  the  men  of  the 
city  go  to  make  Abimelech  king.^  It  is  not  stated  that 
these  sacred  trees  were  on  high  places,  but  this  seems 
altogether  probable. 

The  use  of  mountains  and  high  places  for  worship 
among  the  early  Hebrews  provokes  no  reproof.  Indeed 
that  ancient,  anonymous  prophet,  who  is  embodied  by 
both  Isaiah^  and  Micah,*  says:  "And  it  shall  come  to 
pass  in  the  latter  days,  that  the  mountain  of  Jehovah's 
house  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the  mountains, 
and  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills,  and  all  nations  shall 
flow  unto  it." 

It  is  on  Carmel,  a  sacred  mountain,  that  the  Prophet 
Elijah  repairs  the  altar  of  Jehovah  that  was  thrown 
down.^  It  is  upon  a  mountain  that  Abraham  is  directed 
to  offer  up  his  son.®  It  was  on  a  mountain  that  Jacob 
offered  up  a  sacrifice  before  parting  from  Laban.^  It 
was  on  Mizpah,  signifying  lookout  hill  or  mountain, 
whither  Jephthah  went  to  speak  all  his  words  before  the 
Lord.^  It  is  Mount  Sinai  or  Horeb,  which  is  called 
repeatedly  the  Mount  of  God,"  upon  whose  summit  God 
revealed  himself  to  Moses,"  and  long  afterwards  to 
Elijah.  The  Mount  of  Olives  was  a  place  where  David 
or  his  contemporaries  were  wont  to  worship  God."  With 
reference  to  the  use  of  high  places  for  legitimate  sacrifice, 
there  are  conspicuous  examples.     When  Saul  goes  to  get 

1  Judg.  vi.  II,  21,  24.  ^  I  Kings  xviii.  30. 

^Judg.  ix.  6.  6Gen.  xxii.  2. 

sis,  ii.  2.  '  Gen.  xxxi.  54. 

^Micah  iv.  i.  ®Judg.  xi.  11. 

9  Ex.  iii.  i;  iv.  27;  xxiv.  13;   i  Kings  xix.  8. 
'"Ex.  ill.  5;  xxiv.  12. 
"  2  Sam.  XV.  30,  32.  The  imperfect  indicates  customary  action. 


HIGH    PLACES   AND    SACRED   SHRINES  135 

information  about  his  fatlier's  asses,  he  finds  that  the 
people  have  a  sacrifice  that  day  on  a  high  place,  which  is 
followed  by  a  meal,  of  which  the  invited  guests  do  not 
partake  until  Samuel  first  blesses  the  sacrifice.*  It  was 
to  Gibeon  that  Solomon  went,  after  he  had  been  made 
king,  to  offer  a  thousand  burnt-offerings,  because,  as  the 
writer  says,  "that  was  the  great  high  place,"  and  there 
Jehovah  appeared  unto  him.^ 

This  worship  upon  mountains,  hills,  high  places,  and 
under  trees,  was  nothing  new.  It  is  found  among  other 
nations,  and  is  of  great  antiquity.  When  the  centraliza- 
tion of  worship  in  Israel  is  emphasized  under  Josiah,  the 
effort  is  made  to  do  away  with  the  worship  on  the  high 
places,  and  to  give  effect  to  the  command  contained  in 
Deuteronomy:  "Ye  shall  surely  destroy  all  the  places, 
wherein  the  nations  which  ye  shall  possess  serve  their 
gods,  upon  the  high  mountains,  and  upon  the  hills,  and 
under  every  green  tree."'  Hosea  is  the  first  ancient 
prophet  who  sets  forth  the  true  nature  of  this  worship, 
which  he  regards  as  whoredom.  He  says  of  it:  "My 
people  ask  counsel  at  their  stock,  and  their  staff  declareth 
unto  them:  for  the  spirit  of  whoredom  hath  caused  them 
to  err,  and  they  have  gone  a  whoring  from  under  their 
God.  They  sacrifice  upon  the  tops  of  the  mountains, 
and  burn  incense  upon  the  hills,  under  oaks  and  poplars, 
and  terebinths,  because  the  shadow  thereof  is  good: 
therefore  your  daughters  commit  whoredom,  and  your 
brides  commit  adultery."  * 

Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  characterize  these  places  of 
worship  more  than  once  in  similar  terms:  "For  of  old 
time  I  have  broken  thy  yoke,  and  burst  thy  bands;  and 
thou  saidst,  I  will  not  serve;  for  upon  every  high  hill  and 

'  I  Sam.  ix.  12,  13.  «Deut.  xii.  2. 

»i  Kings  iii.  4.  5-  *Hos.  iv.  12,  13. 


136  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

under  every  green  tree  thou  didst  bow  thyself  playing 
the  harlot."  ^  "For  when  I  had  brought  them  into  the 
land,  which  I  lifted  up  ray  hand  to  give  unto  them,  then 
they  saw  every  high  hill,  and  every  thick  tree,  and  they 
offered  there  their  sacrifices,  and  there  they  presented 
the  provocation  of  their  offering,  there  also  they  made 
their  sweet  savor,  and  they  poured  out  their  drink  offer- 
ings. Then  I  said  unto  them,  what  meaneth  the  high 
place  whereunto  ye  go?  So  the  name  thereof  is  called 
Bamah  unto  this  day."  ^ 

It  is  difificult,  perhaps  impossible,  to  determine  whether 
any  of  the  bamoth  were  artificial  elevations — so  Baudissin 
holds,^  but  on  insufficient  grounds,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
because  his  argument  is  sustained  by  that  which  may  be 
a  doubtful  reading  in  Ezekiel,  namely,  ramah  for  bamah. 
While  there  are  a  few  passages  where  the  term  "houses 
of  high  places"  occurs,  and  the  parallelism  sometimes 
indicates  a  sanctuary,  it  is  evident  from  a  few  other  pas- 
sages that  the  word  batnah  not  only  indicates  the  high 
place,  but  also  the  sanctuary  that  was  often  erected  upon 
it.  In  common  usage  it  is  applied  to  a  building  even  in 
a  valley.  The  terms  employed  indicate  that  the  popular 
reference  was  to  a  building,  in  many  passages  where  the 
word  bamah  is  used.  Thus  we  read  that  Solomon  built 
"an  high  place  for  Chemosh  the  abomination  of  Moab, 
in  the  mount  that  is  before  Jerusalem,  and  for  Molech, 
the  abomination  of  the  children  of  Ammon"  ;  *  "that  the 
children  of  Israel  did  secretly  things  that  were  not  right 
against  Jehovah,  their  God,  and  they  built  them  high 

ijer.  ii.  20. 

2Ezek.  XX.  28,  29. 

3  Op.  cit.,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  258,  259.  Neither  the  LXX.  nor  Jerome 
understood  that  we  have  to  do  with  an  elevation.  Cf.  G.  F.  Moore, 
High  Place,  Ency.Bib.,  New  York,  1901,  Vol.  II.,  col.  2,067. 

*l  Kings  xi.  7. 


HIGH    PLACES   AND    SACRED    SHRINES  1 37 

places  in  all  their  cities";'  and  that  Manasseh,  "built 
again  the  high  places,  which  Hezekiah,  his  father,  had 
destroyed.""  The  verb  asah  (to  make)  is  also  used  as 
a  synonym  of  banah  (to  build).  Sanctuaries,  or  houses, 
are  also  indicated  by  the  words  used  for  their  destruc- 
tion, as  nathatz  (to  tear  down),^  and  saraph  (to  burn). 
The  term  hishmid  (to  destroy)  is  less  definite,  but  is 
probably  to  be  understood  with  respect  to  the  destruction 
of  a  building. 

We  have  every  reason  to  suppose  that  the  Baalim  were 
worshipped  on  the  high  places,  where  there  were  buildings 
as  well  as  where  there  were  none,  under  the  shadow  of 
trees,^  or  on  the  bare  heights.®  We  have  the  term 
Bamoth  Baal,  used  as  the  name  of  the  place  in  Moab, 
whence  Balaam  could  see  Israel,  where  he  erected  seven 
altars  for  sacrifice,  and  where  God  met  him.^  This 
name  also  occurs  in  Joshua,^  and  is  mentioned  in  the 
twenty-seventh  line  of  the  inscription  of  King  Mesha. 
Not  only  the  context  of  several  passages  indicates  that  the 
Baalim  were  worshiped  on  the  high  places,  but  the  Baalim 
are  directly  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  bamoth.^ 

We  have  no  details  in  respect  to  the  rites  used  in 
connection  with  the  worship  of  the  Baalim.  Hosea  indi- 
cates that  the  Israelites  consider  them  the  givers  of  their 
prosperity,  whose  favor  they  are  to  seek.'''  The  worship 
is  of  a  joyful  character.  There  are  feasts,  new  moons, 
and  sabbaths."  At  such  times  the  people  are  decked 
with  their  jewels  and  are  dressed  in  their  best  attire,'^ 

'  2  Kings  xvii.  9.  '  Num.  xxii.  41 — xxiii.  4. 

^2  Kings  xxi.  3.  *Josh.  xiii,  17. 

'2  Kings  xxiii.  8.  »Jer.  xix.  5;  xxxii.  35. 

*  2  Kings  xxiii.  15.  '°Hos.  ii.  7. 

»Hos.  iv,  13.  "  Ver.  13. 

•Jer.  iii.  2.  "Ver.  15. 


138  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

All  is  hilarity.  In  this  there  is  syncretism,  for  the 
prophet  represents  the  people  as  calling  God  Baali  (my 
baal),  as  if  the  worship  were  intended  for  him,  while  the 
thought  is  somewhere  else;  as  if  a  woman  should  call  her 
husband  John,  by  the  name  of  her  paramour  Charles. 

In  the  visit  of  Saul  to  Samuel,  and  in  the  account  of 
his  participation  in  the  feast  which  follows  the  sacrifice, 
we  have  a  glimpse  of  a  meal  which  seems  to  have  been 
conducted  with  piety  and  dignity.  Doubtless  most  of 
the  sacrifices  were  followed  by  such  a  meal.  It  was  to 
such  a  yearly  sacrifice  that  Jonathan  reported  that  David 
had  gone  when  Saul  missed  him  from  the  royal  table. 
There  can  be  no  question  that  this  feast  would  follow 
the  sacrifice  at  the  high  place  of  Bethlehem  if  there  were 
only  one.  This  is  a  legitimate  inference  from  i  Kings, 
iii.  2:  "The  people  sacrificed  in  the  high  places,  because 
there  was  no  house  built  for  the  name  of  Jehovah  until 
those  days,"  interpreted  in  the  light  of  the  present  usage 
of  the  people.  The  passages  which  describe  the  worship 
of  the  bamoth  in  a  general  way,  affirm  that  the  people 
"sacrificed  and  burned  incense  on  high  places."  ^ 

In  the  discussion  which  follows,  on  high  places  in  Syria, 
Palestine  and  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula,  I  have  drawn  on  my 
own  observations  throughout  the  countries  named,  sup- 
plemented by  quotations  from  the  works  of  Burckhardt, 
Conder,  Ganneau,  Tischendorf,  and  Palmer,  which  will 
be  found  in  Appendix  E.  ' 

My  researches  began  in  the  autumn  of  1898,  during  a 
tour  in  northern  Syria,  when  I  had  the  company  of  two 
missionaries  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Board,  Rev. 
F.  W.  March  and  Rev.  W.  S.  Nelson,  D.D.,  both  of 
Tripoli,  whom  I  have  already  named  in  other  connec- 
tions.     My  first  observation  of  a  sacred  grove  was  at  a 

1 1  Kings  xxii.  43;  2  Kings  xii.  3;  xiv.  4. 


HIGH    PLACES   AND    SACRED    SHRINES  1 39 

missionary  station  at  Beinu.      On  making  inquiry  regard- 
ing a  grove  that  I  saw  on  a  neighboring  height,  I  was 
told  that  it  was  sacred.     The  following  is  the  record  in 
my  journal:  "One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  characteris- 
tic places  in  the  vicinity  of  Beinu  is  what  must  anciently 
have  been  a  high  place,  known  in  Hebrew  as  bamah.     On 
the  top  of  it  are  oaks,  called  sacred  trees.     There  is  also 
a   Greek  church  among  the  trees,  without  a  roof."     I 
afterwards  visited  the  grove.     I  found  that  there  was  a 
cave  in  connection  with  it,  which  doubtless  has  a  sacred 
character,  although  I  did  not  think  of  investigating  the 
subject  at  the  time.      Inside  the  ruin  were  various  places 
where  incense  had  been  burned.      I  was  told  that  on  the 
7th  of  October,  at  the  feast  of  Mar  Sarkis,  the  people  are 
in  the  habit  of  coming  from  all  around  to  this  high  place 
and  of  bringing  food  for  a  feast.     I  was  informed  that 
they  now  celebrate  a  mass,  as  this  is  a  Greek  shrine,  but 
twenty  years   ago    they   made    their  vows   and   brought 
bread  or  a  sheep  and  gave  to  the  poor. 

I  need  not  say  that  when  I  first  recognized  this  as  a 
high  place  and  a  sacred  grove,  it  had  for  me  the  charm 
of  a  new  discovery.  From  this  time  on  every  energy 
was  spent  in  securing  information  regarding  this  charac- 
teristic of  northern  Syria;  for  while  high  places  and  sacred 
trees  are  to  be  found  in  almost  every  village  and  settle- 
ment from  Syria  to  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula  inclusive,  not 
to  speak  of  Asia  Minor,  Egypt,  Abyssinia,  and  other 
countries,  there  is  no  part  of  the  East  where  sacred 
groves  and  high  places  are  so  abundant  and  form  such  a 
conspicuous  part  of  the  landscape  as  in  northern  Syria. 
I  saw  more  than  fifty  such  in  my  journey  from  Beinu  to 
Safita — a  portion  of  the  country  which  is  rarely  traversed 
by  travelers.  By  interviewing  peasants  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  these  high  places,  as  well  as  congregations  of 


140  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

Protestant  Christians,  who  had  once  been  slaves  of  these 
superstitions,  I  was  able  to  get  a  mass  of  testimony 
mostly  consentient,  which  to  my  mind  sheds  at  least  some 
light  on  the  history  of  Israelitish  religion. 

The  next  shrine  that  I  investigated  was  at  Musulleh, 
a  settlement  of  the  Nusairiyeh.      Here  we  found  a  sacred 
grove  around  the  tomb  of  Sheik  Ahmed.     The  tomb  was 
in  the  form  of  a  large  mound,  about  eight  feet  long, 
three  feet  wide  at  the  base,  but  narrower  at  the  top,  and 
about  three  feet  high,  covered  with  white  plaster.     It 
was  in  an  inclosure  about  a  rod  square,  and  surrounded 
by  a  rude  stone  wall  about  three  or  four  feet  high,  with 
an  entrance  two  feet  wide  on  one  side,  with  a  long  stone 
across  the  top,  probably  to  exclude  any  one  who  might 
try  to  ride  in.     This  was  the  general  character  of  all  these 
tombs,  which  were  open  to  the  sky.    In  one  place  the  stone 
laid  across  the  entrance  was  carved  in  the  shape  of  an 
immense  phallus.     It  was  impossible  to  get  an  interview 
with  the  sheik  of  the  village,  who  was  reported,  in  the 
language  of  some  society  ladies,  as  "not  at  home."     We 
were  therefore  compelled  to  question  one  of  his  servants. 
From  him  we  gained  the  following  information:   "The 
spirit  of  the  saint  resides  in  the  tomb.      He  would  visit 
any   desecration   of   the   grove,   such   as   the   cutting  or 
mutilation  of  the  trees,  with  death." 

We  heard  this  latter  statement  repeated  "over  and  over 
again.  On  the  tomb  is  a  green  cloth.  If  any  one  is  ill 
he  tears  off  a  piece  of  the  cloth  and  ties  it  around  his 
neck  or  wrist,  thus  vicariously  transferring  the  healing 
properties  of  the  well  to  himself.  Those  who  are  ill  or 
in  trouble  come  to  the  tomb  and  make  their  vow  to  the 
saint,  promising  him,  in  case  of  recovery,  grain  or  sheep. 
In  the  event  of  a  favorable  issue,  they  make  payment  of 
what  they  have  promised  and  use  it  as  a  meal  at  the  tomb 


HIGH    PLACES    AND    SACRED    SHRINES  I4I 

of  the  saint.  Any  one  who  chooses  may  come  and  par- 
take. I  found  it  was  also  a  universal  custom  that  a  feast 
was  always  instituted  after  the  payment  of  vows,  although 
often  more  than  one  sheep  or  goat  is  slaughtered,  and 
sometimes  even  bullocks.  Guests  are  often  invited  to 
partake  of  the  meal  which  follows  the  sacrifice. 

Another  shrine,  which  we  visited  the  same  morning, 
is  especially  good  for  the  eyes.     The  saint  is  an  oculist. 
A  man  who  has  trouble  with  his  eyes  takes  a  cock,  cuts 
off  its  head,  puts  a  drop  of  its  blood  in  each  eye,  gives 
the  cock  to  some  poor  person,  and  his  eyes  get  well. 
Another  place  belongs  to  Moslems  and  Christians.     There 
are  other  examples  where  high  places  are  held  sacred  by 
Moslems  and   Christians,  by  Nusairiyeh  and   Christians, 
by  Greeks  and  Maronites,  or  by  all  the  leading  sects,  of 
which  I  shall  give  examples  later.      At  a  caravansary  we 
sought  to  get  information  as  to  whether  the  spirit  of  St. 
John  {Mar  Yehanna),  which  I  have  mentioned  in  another 
connection,   was   in   the   stone,   before   which  we   found 
incense.     We  got  different  replies.      One  said  the  spirit 
of  the  saint  must  be  in  the  ground.     But  we  said,  "When 
the  saint  was  buried,  did  not  his  soul  go  to  heaven;  what 
is  there  here?"     The  answer  was,   "We  do  not  know  any- 
thing about  heaven,  so  that  the  place  where  his  body  was 
is  the  place  where  you  are  to  worship  him."     In  regard 
to  another  shrine,  a  man  said,   "If  you  are  ill,  you  must 
go  and  lay  your  hand  on  his  tomb  and  make  your  vow. 


<>  1 


'The  account  of  these  shrines  is  substantially  as  I  recorded 
it  about  three  years  ago.  Tliose  which  I  have  seen  since  are 
often  in  small  rectangular  buildings,  with  a  dome,  like  the  whited 
sepulchres  of  which  Christ  speaks  (Matt,  xxiii.  27). 

A  description  of  many  of  these  shrines  is  to  be  found  in 
other  connections  in  this  book,  as  it  is  impossible  to  disassoci- 
ate them  altogether  from  the  discussion  of  local  divinities,  minis- 
ters, "holy  men,"  etc. 

Those  who  desire  to  see  something  of  what  has  been  already 


142  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

We  are  now  prepared  to  make  an  induction  from  the 
passages  cited  in  the  Old  Testament,  from  my  own  per- 
sonal observations  and  studies  in  northern  Syria,  from 
those  things  which  came  to  my  notice  in  Palestine  and 
the  Sinaitic  Peninsula,  as  well  as  from  the  statements  of 
eminent  travelers  quoted  in  Appendix  E. 

The  sacred  character  of  mountain  tops  is  evident  to 
any  one  who  travels  widely  in  the  parts  named.  On 
Mount  Hermon,  near  the  highest  summit,  are  the  remains 
of  more  than  one  temple,  as  well  as  of  small  bones  and 
ashes  which  lie  on  a  bed  of  gravel  around  the  ruins  on 
the  east  side  for  more  than  one  hundred  feet,  and  in 
some  places,  for  a  depth  of  more  than  a  foot  and  a  half.* 
On  Mount  Gerizim  there  are  not  only  ruins  indicating 
that  from  ancient  times  it  was  a  place  of  worship,  but 
the  Samaritans  annually  celebrate  their  passover  there. ^ 
Sacrifices  are  also  still  offered,  according  to  the  testimony 
of  travelers,  on  Mount  Sinai  and  Mount  Serbal.^  It  is 
doubtless  true  that  from  time  immemorial  these  moun- 
tains, not  to  speak  especially  of  Tabor,  Carmel,  and 
others,  have  been  favored  seats  of  worship. 

made  known  on  this  subject  by  others  will  find  some  valuable 
excerpts  in  Appendix  E.  There  has  been  much  more  published 
on  this  subject  by  travelers  and  scholars  than  in  connection  with 
any  other  part  of  my  investigation. 

'  I  know  of  no  other  way  to  account  for  the  presence  of  this 
deposit,  which  has  the  appearance  of  ashes,  and  is  intermixed 
with  small  bones. 

-Appendix  F. 

^When  Riippel  visited  the  top  of  Mount  Serbal,  in  1831, 
he  found  a  circular  inclosure  of  rough  hewn  stones,  reached  by 
rude  steps  of  stone,  placed  against  the  shelving  precipice  lead- 
ing up  to  it.  His  guide  removed  his  sandals  from  his  feet  when 
he  entered  into  the  midst  of  it  to  pray,  and  afterwards  told  him 
that  he  himself  had  twice  offered  a  sheep  as  a  thank-offering, 
the  first  time  after  the  birth  of  a  son,  and  the  second  after  his 
own  recovery  from  illness.  (Cf.  Lepsius.  Letters  from  Egypt, 
Ethiopia,  and  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai.  London,  MDCCCLIIL, 
p.  310.     Note.) 


,*•  -^M^f. 


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HIGH    PLACES   AND    SACRED    SHRINES  I43 

Nor  can  there  be  any  question  that  the  banioth  of  the 
Canaanites  and  the  Hebrews  were  sometimes  the  same  as 
the  makayns,  now  observed  from  northern  Syria  through- 
out Palestine  and  in  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula.  We  have 
seen  that  the  bainah  was  not  always  a  high  place,  that 
it  often  indicates  a  sanctuary,  which  may  be  in  a  city  or 
valley,  and  which  is  evidently  a  building.  In  this  respect 
the  usage  corresponds  precisely  to  what  we  find  to-day. 
The  makam  is  the  place  of  the  saint.  It  is  preferably 
on  a  hilltop,  but  may  simply  be  a  tomb  of  a  saint  in  a 
rude  inclosure  under  the  open  heavens,  or  the  tomb  may 
be  in  a  little  building,  usually  with  a  dome,  called  a 
kubheh.  Such  a  tomb  may  be  in  town  or  village,  or  even 
on  low  ground,  like  the  makam  of  Abu  Zenimeh,  of  the 
Sinaitic  Peninsula,  which  is  a  frail  hut  by  the  shore  of 
the  Red  Sea. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  sacred  groves  and 
sacred  trees  are  essentially  of  the  same  character  as  those 
mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  that  they  exist  in 
much  the  same  places  as  of  old,  wherever  trees  can 
grow;  at  least  one  is  often  found  near  a  makam.  There 
is  such  a  tree  at  Tell  el-Kadi  over  the  grave  of  a  weli. 
There  is  also  a  sacred  grove  not  far  away.  The  only 
tree  I  saw  in  a  ride  of  nine  hours  between  Beersheba 
and  Gaza  was  a  sacred  tree.  The  trees  themselves,  as 
we  have  observed,  are  sometimes  the  objects  of  worship. 
Though  the  name  of  the  Baalim  has  perished  in  connec- 
tion with  these  places,  their  cult  is  still  observed. 


CHAPTER   XII 

PRIESTS  AND  "HOLY   MEN" 

One  of  the  surprises  in  the  investigation  of  primitive 
Semitic  religion  to-day  was  to  find  that  there  is  virtually 
a  priesthood  in  existence  at  the  shrines.  They  do  not 
have  the  designation  of  priests;  they  are  known  rather 
as  sheiks^  of  certain  shrines,  or  as  servants  of  certain 
saints.  But  their  duties  and  emoluments  correspond  in 
some  degree  to  those  about  which  we  read  in  the  Old 
Testament. 

In  1898  I  heard  that  there  was  a  priestly  family  con- 
nected with  the  shrine  known  as  the  "Mother  of  Pieces" 
{Umm  Shakakif),^  but  could  learn  nothing  further  about 
it  at  that  time. 

Three  years  later,  after  discovering  the  "Chair" 
{Ktirsi),  above  the  valley  of  ez-Zebedani,  I  had  the  great 
joy  of  having  my  first  interview  with  the  servant  of  the 
shrine,  which  consists,  as  we  have  seen,  of  a  monumental 
rock,  over  thirty  feet  high,  underneath  which  is  a  little 
cave  known  as  a  well.  Before  making  our  visit.  Rev.  J. 
Stewart  Crawford,  whose  summer  home  is  in  Bludan,  had 
arranged  to  have  the  minister  of  the  kursi  ready  to  meet 
us  on  our  arrival. 

After  climbing  the  steep  mountain-side  above  the 
Moslem  village  of  Madaya,  where  the  servant  of  the 
kursi  resides,  we  found  him  and  a  companion  reclining 
under  one  of  the  sacred  oaks,  the  largest  of  the  group 
which   are  near  the  well.      He   and   his  friend   at   once 

'This  is  a  common  designation. 
2  See  pp.  44,  45- 

144 


PRIESTS   AND    "HOLY    MEN"  I45 

joined   us  on   a   flat  rock   behind  the  kursi,  from  which, 
however,  the  view  of  the  source  of  the  Barada  was  unob- 
structed.     I   have  seen   Moslems  frequently  at   prayer, 
once  in  a  police  court  in  Damascus;  once  on  a  housetop, 
where   I  was  spending  the  night;  once  under  a   sacred 
terebinth  at  Gadara  (Mukes),  where  fifteen  men,  includ- 
ing our  mounted  horseman,  went  through  their  prayers; 
often  by  the  roadside;  and  once  on  the  way  to  Engedi 
{Ain  Jidi).      I   saw  the  sheik  of  our  Bedouin  escort  stop 
by  a  grave,  where  many  of  the  clan  seemed  to  be  buried. 
While  standing  he  engaged  in  an  act  of  prayer.      Moslems 
always  prostrate  themselves  when  engaged  in  their  devo- 
tions.      Our    surprise  was,   therefore,   very  great  when 
the  minister  of  the  kursi  and  his  companion,  standing 
side  by  side,  and  turning  their  faces  toward  the  source  of 
the  Barada,  which  was  west  by  south,  engaged  in  prayer. 
Not  once  did  they  bend  the  knee.     When  they  had  fin- 
ished the  first  petition  they  paused  for  a  few  moments, 
took   a   step   forward,    and   resumed    their   prayer,   then 
paused    again,    took    another    step    forward,    and    then 
uttered   the   third   and    last   petition.     When   we   asked 
them  afterwards  why  they  did  not  look  toward  the  south, 
toward   Mecca,   the   Moslem   Kibla,'  they  said,  that,    as 
their  prayer  was  to  the  "God  of  the  place,"  it  was  a 
matter  of  indifference  which  point  of  the  compass  they 
faced.       It  is  needless  to  say  that  an   interview  which 
began  in  such  a  way  was  most  instructive  and  most  inspir- 
ing.     Here  was  the  priest,  or  "servant  of  the  kursi,"  a 
shrine  which  they  claimed  was  next  in   importance  after 

»Cf.  Muir,  The  Life  of  Mahomet.  London,  1894,  p.  117:  "Jeru- 
salem had  been  long  regarded  by  the  prophet  with  the  utmost 
veneration;  and  indeed,  until  his  breach  with  the  Jews  at  Medina, 
the  temple  remained  his  Kibla,  or  place  toward  which,  at  each 
stated  genuflection,  he  turned  to  pray."  He  afterwards  changed 
the  Kibla  to  Mecca.     P.  183. 


146  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

Mecca,  or  rather  on  a  par  with  it,  consisting  of  a  great 
monolithic  rock,  in  which  the  common  people  believed 
that  the  ten  companions  of  the  Prophet  Mohammed 
reside,  with  a  cavern  so  small  that  five  people  could  not 
sit  upright  in  it.  This  servant  lived  in  the  village  below 
as  a  good  orthodox  Moslem,  but  in  the  presence  of  this 
sacred  stone,  hallowed  for  millenniums,  the  ancient 
heathenism  was  too  much  for  him,  as  it  had  been  for  the 
priestly  family  from  which  he  was  descended  through 
many  generations. 

The  following  day  the  minister  of  the  "Mother  of 
Pieces"  came,  at  our  invitation,  from  the  village  of 
Zebedani,  where  he  resides,  to  Mr.  Crawford's  house. 
We  learned  that  in  the  spring  there  was  an  annual  festi- 
val, when  the  people  of  the  villages  in  the  vicinage 
marched  in  procession  to  the  shrine  following  a  banner 
borne  by  thirty  or  forty  who  were  called  his  disciples. 

In  the  course  of  our  travels  we  found  many  men  whose 
business  it  is  to  care  for  the  shrines,  and  to  lead  the  wor- 
ship at  them,  but  none  so  interesting  as  the  servant  of 
the  kursi. 

Usually  only  one  priestly  family  is  connected  with  a 
shrine,  though  there  may  be  a  father  and  sons,  as  in  the 
case  of  Hophni  and  Phineas.'  Boys  are  sometimes  dedi- 
cated to  the  service  of  a  shrine,  like  the  lad  Samuel. 
But  there  are  also  cases  of  several  priestly  families  living 
at  one  shrine,  as  at  Nob.^  Such  are  found  at  Nebi  Daud, 
on  the  traditional  Mount  Zion,  at  the  northwest  corner 
of  Jerusalem,  outside  the  wall.  There  are  said  to  be  at 
least  ten  priestly  families  dwelling  in  the  houses  sur- 
rounding the  court  of  the  traditional  tomb  of  David. 

'i  Sam.  i.  3. 

2  Such  was  the  testimony  of  several  belonging  to  different 
priestly  families. 


PRIEST    OK    MIMSTKK    OF    THE    MEZAK    AT    JAKAK. 
NOTICE  THE  SEMN  AND  HENNA  IM.ASTEKEIJ  ON  THE  LINTEL  ANU  LEFT  DOORPOST. 


(  < 


PRIESTS   AND       HOLY    MEN  I47 

It  seems  to  be  the  case  that  such  a  priesthood  is 
hereditary.  It  is  transmitted  from  father  to  son,  or  to 
some  scion  of  the  family,  and  so  on  throughout  the 
generations.' 

They  are  supported,  in  part  at  least,  by  the  sacrifices 
which  are  brought  to  the  makam.  The  dues  of  these 
priests,  who  are  commonly  known  as  ministers,  or  care- 
takers, are  much  the  same  as  among  ancient  Israel. 
Ordinarily  they  receive  the  hide  of  the  animal  offered 
and  one  of  the  quarters,  sometimes  other  parts.  For 
example,  the  servant  of  the  "Chair"  receives  the  hide  or 
leg  of  the  sacrifice,  and  whatever  money  is  left  in  the  lit- 
tle cavern,  also  the  offerings  of  olive  oil.  The  servant  at 
Berza  is  presented  with  the  hide,  the  right  hind  quarter, 
and  the  bowels;  so  the  Moslem  caretaker  at  Nebi  Safa 
gets  a  quarter  of  the  animal,  and  usually  the  hide.  The 
dues  of  the  priests  in  ancient  Israel  were  not  essentially 
different.  According  to  the  Deuteronomist,  the  one 
bringing  a  sacrifice  was  to  "give  unto  the  priest  the 
shoulder,  the  two  cheeks,  and  the  maw.  "^  According 
to  the  Priests'  Code  "the  priest  that  offereth  any  man's 
burnt-offering,  even  the  priest  shall  have  to  himself  the 
skin  of  the  burnt-offering  which  he  hath  offered"  ;  ^  "And 
the  right  thigh  shall  ye  give  unto  the  priest  for  an  heave 
offering  out  of  the  sacrifices  of  your  peace  offerings.  He 
among  the  sons  of  Aaron  that  offereth  the  blood  of  the 
peace  offerings,  and  the  fat,  shall  have  the  right  thigh 
for  a  portion."  * 

The  vows  which  are  made  by  modern  Semites  yield  an 
important   part    of    the   income   of    the   minister  of    the 

'Journal  XIII.,  Rasheya,  summer  of  1901. 
^Deut.  xviii.  3. 
'  Lev.  vii.  8. 
*Lev.  vii.  32,  33. 


148  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

shrine.  During  the  year,  at  a  popular  makam,  many 
sheep  and  goats,  and  sometimes  larger  animals,  are  killed 
in  payment  of  vows.  Besides  there  are  vows  of  grain, 
which  are  promised  on  condition  of  good  harvests. 
These  vows  are  collected  by  a  servant  of  a  shrine.  Such 
collections  are  so  customary  that  Rev.  W.  K.  Eddy,  of 
the  American  Presbyterian  Mission,  Sidon.  has  had  the 
collector  of  vows  come  to  his  house,  asking  if  there  were 
any  vows  for  the  shrine.  Large  revenues  come  to  the 
monastery  of  St.  George  in  northern  Syria  from  this 
source.  The  income  is  so  great  that  the  abbot  is  able  to 
buy  himself  a  bishopric.  The  servant  of  a  shrine,  if  it 
occupies  a  building,  keeps  it  in  order.  Sometimes  such 
a  building  is  quite  alone  by  itself,  as  the  shrine  of  Aaron 
on  Mount  Hor;  or  it  may  be  one  of  several  buildings 
gathered  around  a  court,  like  Nebi  Daud,  where  there 
are  homes  for  one  or  more  priestly  families,  who  live  in 
great  comfort.  He  may  slay  the  victim,  if  for  any  reason 
the  one  bringing  the  sacrifice,  does  not  choose  to  do  so. 
Sometimes  it  is  stipulated  that  the  minister  of  the  shrine 
is  to  slaughter  it.  "The  special  dahhiyeh  sacrifice  is  slain 
by  the  person  bringing  it,  but  if  he  is  afraid,  or  his  hand 
trembles,  he  can  say  to  any  proper  person,  'I  appoint 
thee  my  representative  in  offering  this  sacrifice;  dost 
thou  accept?'  But  when  they  appoint  a  representative 
they  put  their  hand  on  the  back  of  the  animal  slaughtered. 
The  hand  may  be  put  on  any  part.  The  same  ceremony 
is  observed  in  the  case  of  a  woman,  who  may  choose  a 
representative,  or  may  slaughter  with  her  own  hand  if 
she  prefers."^  According  to  the  same  authority,  any 
one  may  kill  the  sacrifice  for  vows.  The  minister  of  the 
"Chair"  said:  "If  the  sheik,  that  is,  the  minister  of  the 
shrine,  is  present,  he  kills  the  victim,  otherwise  any  one 
»So  the  Derwish  Hatib  of  Der  'Atiyeh,  summer  of  1901, 


PRIESTS  AND   "HOLY   MEN"  I49 

who  can  read  the  first  sura  of  the  Koran.  He  uses  the 
formula,  'This  is  from  thee  and  for  thee.'  The  dahhiyeh 
sacrifice  is  slaughtered  by  the  one  who  brings  it.  If, 
however,  it  is  brought  by  a  woman,  she  puts  her  hand  on 
that  of  the  man  who  kills  it."  The  butcher  often  kills 
it.  So,  according  to  the  various  codes,  the  one  bringing 
a  private  victim  usually  slays  it  himself.'  It  is  quite  sig- 
nificant among  the  modern  Semites,  that  while  they  do  not 
lay  their  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  sacrifice,  they  do  lay 
their  hands  upon  it,  if  they  ask  some  one  else  to  kill  it. 

In  addition  to  the  care  that  the  minister  takes  of  the 
shrine,"  he  is  the  repository  of  such  legends  as  may  exist 
with  respect  to  the  origin  of  the  shrine,  and  the  life  of 
the  saint  whose  name  and  deeds  are  celebrated. 

Besides  the  ministers  there  are  "holy  men."  This 
term  must  be  understood  in  the  old  Semitic  sense  of 
those  set  apart  to  the  service  of  Deity.  Thus  we  read 
of  "holy  men"  who  were  Sodomites,  and  of  "holy 
women,"  or  priestesses,  of  Astarte,  the  Syrian  Venus, 
who  were  temple  prostitutes.^     It  is  the  Old  Testament 

'Cf.  Bissell,  Biblical  Antiquities,  Philadelphia,  1888,  p.  388. 
Of  course  it  is  understood  that  the  one  slaying  a  sacrifice  must  be 
a  Moslem,  in  order  that  it  may  be  legal.  "Cf.  Hedaya,  Vol.  IV.,  p. 
63.  Or,  at  least,  if  slain  by  a  Christian,  it  must  be  by  the  com- 
mand of  a  Moslem.     P.  83. 

2  The  duties  of  the  ancient  Bedouin  in  the  care  of  their 
shrines  seem  to  have  been  essentially  the  same  as  to-day,  Cf.  Ben- 
zinger,  Hebraische  Archiiologie,  Leipzig,  1894,  pp.  409,  410:  "  In 
ausserordentlich  interessanter  Weise  wird  das  alles  bestiitigt  durch 
die  aufallenden  Parallelen  bei  den  alten  Arabern.  Das  Amt  des 
Priesters  ist  bei  ihnen  die  Bewachung  des  Gotteshauses  ....  fiir 
Darbringung  des  Opfers  auf  einem  einfachen  Stein  ist  er  ent- 
belirlich  ....  Das  Amt  ist  in  erbiichem  Besitz  gewisser  Fam- 
ilien." 

'The  Hebrew  term  for  Sodomites  is  kadesh,  and  for  temple 
prostitute  kedeshah,  from  kdsh,  to  be  set  apart.  Deut.  xxiii.  17. 
(Rev.  Ver.)  Cf.  Hos.iv.  14.  According  to  what  seems  to  be  unim- 
peachable testimony,  sodomy  is  extensively  practised  in  certain 
cities  of  Syria,  and  according  tu  Hugronje,  as  quoted  by  Zwemer 
(Arabia:    The  Cradle  of  Islam),  p.  41,  in  the  sacred  mosque  of 


150  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

which  gives  this  ancient  Semitic  term  an  ethical  mean- 
ing. The  word,  as  connected  with  the  God  of  Israel,  has 
the  signification  which  is  always  assigned  to  it  in  theo- 
logical and  devotional  literature.  The  "holy  man"  of 
the  modern  Semites  may  be  anything  but  a  moral  man, 
as  we  shall  see. 

There  are  said  to  be  seven  holy  men  in  the  world,  so 
that  all  who  resemble  them  are  given  the  benefit  of  the 
doubt.  So  far  as  they  are  not  imposters,  they  are  men 
whom  we  would  call  insane,  known  among  the  Syrians  as 
mejn^?i,  possessed  by  z.jinn,  or  spirit.  They  often  go  in 
filthy  garments,  or  without  clothing.  Since  they  are 
regarded  as  intoxicated  by  deity,  the  most  dignified  men, 
and  of  the  highest  standing  among  the  Moslems,  submit 
to  utter  indecent  language  at  their  bidding  without 
rebuke,  and  ignorant  Moslem  women  do  not  shrink  from 
their  approach,  because  in  their  superstitious  belief  they 
attribute  to  them,  as  men  possessed  by  God,  a  divine 
authority  which  they  dare  not  resist.'     Such  an  attitude 

Mecca  itself.  Likewise,  the  priest  of  the  shrine  of  Ali  at  Kerbela 
asked  an  Armenian,  now  resident  in  New  York,  if  he  wanted  a 
wife  during  his  stay  at  the  annual  festival.  These  temporary 
wives  are  kept  veiled  in  the  sacred  inclosure. 

'  In  a  certain  family  in  Nebk  the  wife,  a  perfectly  respectable 
woman,  apparently  with  the  consent  of  her  husband,  considers  it 
wrong  to  refuse  a  "holy  man."  Her  name  is  well  known  in  the 
community  where  she  lives.  Such  cases  are  probably  rare,  and 
occur  among  the  very  superstitious.  A  Moslem  said  they  should 
not  be  blamed  or  struck  for  such  approaches,  and  added  that  the 
"iioly  man"  when  he  comes  near  a  woman  begins  to  shiver  and 
retires.  Another  Moslem  explained  such  reports  by  affirming 
that  some  "holy  men"  had  been  led  astray  by  immoral  women. 
Casting  aside  the  specific  testimony  of  Christians,  even  the  admis- 
sions of  Moslems  and  the  case  cited  seem  to  indicate  that  these 
mendicants  have  their  way  with  the  ignorant  in  everything.  Cf. 
Frazer,  The  Golden  Bough,  London,  1900,  p.  147:  "Women  are 
taught  to  believe  that  the  highest  bliss  for  themselves  and  their 
families  is  to  be  attained  by  yielding  themselves  to  the  embraces 
of  those  beings  in  whom  the  divine  nature  mysteriously  coexists 
with  the  form  and  appetites  of  true  humanity." 


<  ( 


PRIESTS   AND       HOLY    MEN  151 

of  compliance  may  be  exceptional,  but  there  are  more 
than  rumors  of  its  existence.  These  "holy  men"  differ 
from  the  ordinary  derwishes  whom  travelers  so  often  see 
in  Cairo/  and  from  the  ordinary  madmen  who  are  kept 
in  fetters,  so  that  they  may  not  do  injury  to  themselves 
and  others.  But  their  appearance,  and  the  expressions 
regarding  them,  afford  some  illustrations  of  the  popular 
estimate  of  ancient  seers,  or  prophets,  in  the  time  of 
Hosea:  "The  prophet  is  a  fool,  the  man  that  hath  the 
spirit  is  mad;  "  ^  and  in  the  time  of  Jeremiah,  the  man 
who  made  himself  a  prophet  was  considered  as  good  as 
a  madman.^  We  are  reminded,  too,  of  one  of  the  signs  by 
which  Saul  was  considered  a  prophet,  when  he  stripped  off 
his  clothes,  and  lay  down  naked  all  that  day  and  all  that 
night,  so  that  the  people  in  view  of  these  demonstrations, 
with  which  they  were  so  familiar,  said,  "Is  Saul  also 
among  the  prophets?"  * 

The  sinlessness  of  "holy  men"  is  considered  as  of  the 
same  sort  as  that  of  little  children;  that  is,  like  little 
children  they  are  innocent,  because  they  have  had  no 
experience  of  sin.^ 

'  See  Lane,  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Modern  Egyptians, 
London,  1886,  pp.  439??.,  46i£f.,  and  Baedeker,  Egypt,  Leipsic, 
1898,  pp.  Ixxxvii-lxxxviii:  "A  considerable  number  of  them  [of 
the  derwishes]  are  insane,  in  which  case  they  are  highly  revered 
by  the  people,  and  are  regarded  as  especially  favored  by  God,  who 
has  taken  their  spirits  to  heaven,  while  he  has  left  their  earthly 
tabernacle  behind."  Essentially  the  same  view  is  held  in  the  Syr- 
ian desert:  "They  think  the  spirit  of  the  'holy  man'  is  shut  up 
in  heaven." 

'Hos.  ix.  7.   Cf.  George  Adam  Smith,  The  Book  of  the  Twelve 
Prophets,  New  York,  1896,  p.  28  n. 
'Gen.  xxix.  26. 
*  I  Sam.  xix.  21-24. 

"A  simple  Moslem  was  explaining  to  Suleiman  of  Nebk  how 
a  "holy  man  "  is  sinless.  He  said,  "your  child  is  pure  and  innocent 
because  she  cannot  distinguish  between  good  and  evil;  the  same 
is  true  of  the  'holy  man.'  " 


152  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

They  are  also  believed  to  be  possessed  of  prophetic 
power,  so  that  they  are  able  to  foretell  the  future,  and 
warn  the  people  among  whom  they  live  of  impending 
danger.' 

The  "holy  men"  and  the  religious  sheiks  cast  out  evil 
spirits,  which  resemble  closely  those  about  whom  we  read 
in  the  time  of  our  Lord.  They  exorcise  evil  spirits  from 
those  who  are  ill.  They  think  such  persons  are  possessed 
by  the  jinn,  who  seem  to  be  the  same  as  the  demons  in 
the  time  of  Christ.  The  religious  sheiks,  who  fulfil  a 
different  function  from  the  holy  men,  and  who  are  reli- 
gious teachers,^  all  exorcise.  The  following  account  of 
a  young  woman  possessed  by  an  evil  spirit,  which  was 
exorcised,  was  given  to  Suleiman,  a  Protestant  teacher 
in  Nebk,  by  his  wife,  who  knows  the  girl:  "The  holy 
man  commanded  the  spirit  to  come  out  of  her.  He 
replied,  'I  will  come  out  of  her  head.'  'But  if  you  do,' 
said  the  holy  man,  'you  will  break  her  head.'  'Then,' 
said  the  spirit,  'I  will  come  out  from  her  eye.'  'No,' 
said  the  holy  man,  'you  will  destroy  it.'  At  last  he  pro- 
posed to  come  out  of  her  toe,  and  this  was  permitted."  * 

*  A  "holy  man"  foretold  a  conflagration.    Journal  of  1901. 

2  The  religious  sheiks  visit  the  Bedouin  two  or  three  days  each 
year  to  give  them  religious  instruction. 

3  Baldensperger  relates  a  similar  case  in  Palestine,  Quarterly 
Statement,  London,  1893,  pp.  214,  215:  "On  the  31st  of  December, 
1891,  a  woman  living  next  field  to  ours,  in  Jaffa  was  seized  by  a  man 

wrapped  in  white She  was  struck  dumb  with  terror,  and  ran 

into  the  house,  but  could  show  only  by  signs  that  something  ex- 
traordinary had  happened.  Immediately  a  sheik  from  Saknet  Abu 
Darwish,  near  by,  was  fetched,  who  brought  his  sacred  books- 
ghost  books— and  to  begin  with,  administered  a  severe  flogging  to 
the  patient.  Then  burning  incense  all  the  time  he  began  question- 
ing: 

Sheik.— Who  art  thou? 
Ghost.— (Out  of  the  woman.)     A  Jew. 
Sh.— How  camest  thou  hither? 
Gh. — I  was  killed  on  the  spot. 
Sh.— Where  art  thou  come  from? 


PRIESTS   AND       HOLY    MEN  1 53 

A  boy  had  epileptic  fits.  The  boy  felt  the  spirit  coming 
up  through  him.  The  sheik  gave  the  boy  such  a  heavy 
blow  on  the  shoulder  as  to  make  a  wound;  through  this 
wound  the  spirit  came  out  of  him.' 

In  this  connection  we  may  speak  of  those  who  corre- 
spond somewhat  to  the  ancient  Nazirites,  who  are  vowed 
to  God  by  some  doting  mother,  as  Samuel  by  Hannah. 
The  hair  remains  uncut  until  they  arrive  at  a  certain  age, 
is  weighed  when  cut,  and  money  is  paid  in  proportion  to 
its  weight.  One  thus  consecrated  becomes  a  derwish  if 
a  Moslem,  and  a  monk  if  a  Christian.^ 

There  are  no  "holy  women,"  or  temple  priestesses, 
among  the  Syrians,  who  prostitute  themselves  in  the 
service  of  some  shrine,  as  was  customary  among  the 
ancient  Israelites,^  and  among  their  heathen  neighbors, 
as  we  see  from  the  worship  of  Baal  Peor,  or  from  that  of 
Afka,  where,  in  the  most  romantic  place  in  Lebanon,  at 
the  source  of  the  ancient  River  Adonis,  which  leaps  full- 
born  from  a  cavern  in  a  perpendicular  rock,  more  than  a 

Gh. — I  am  from  Nablus. 

Sh.— When  wast  thou  killed? 

Gh. — -Twelve  years  ago. 

Sh.— Come  forth  from  this  woman. 

Gh. — I  will  not. 

Sh. — I  have  fire  here  and  will  burn  thee. 

Gh. — Where  shall  I  go  out? 

Sh. — From  the  little  toe. 

Gh. — I  would  like  to  come  out  by  the  eye,  by  the  nose,  etc. 

After  long  disputing,  the  ghost,  after  a  terrible  shake  of  the 
body  and  of  the  leg,  fled  by  the  toe;  the  exhausted  woman  lay 
down  and  recovered  her  language." 

'  Journal  X.,  summer  of  1901. 

2  The  late  Rev.  John  Zeller,  for  more  than  forty  years  resident  in 
Palestine, said:  "  Women  sometimes  vow  to  give  a  son  to  God.  He 
is  regarded  as  a  sort  of  Nazirite  and  his  hair  is  not  cut  until  he  comes 
of  age.  Then  a  great  feast  is  made.  Such  a  boy,  if  a  Christian, 
may  become  a  monk,  if  a  Moslem  a  derwish."  Journal  VHI., sum- 
mer of  1898. 

^Deut.  xxiii.  17;  Hos.  iv.  14. 


154  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

thousand  feet  in  height,  was  situated  the  temple  of  Venus, 
at  which  her  priestesses  practised  licentious  rites,  until 
it  was  torn  down,  by  the  command  of  Constantine. 
It  is  an  interesting  illustration  of  the  permanence  of  the 
memory  of  such  a  site  that  a  sacred  fig-tree,  which  has 
grown  out  of  the  ruins  of  this  temple,  is  known  by  the 
natives  as  "Our  Lady  Venus."  The  designation  "Our 
Lady,"  is  here  combined  with  the  heathen  goddess.  Other- 
wise it  is  used  only  in  connection  with  the  Virgin  Mary.^ 
Nor  are  there  those  in  Syria  who  vow  themselves 
once,  as  Herodotus  says  was  the  custom  among  Baby- 
lonian women  in  their  service  of  Venus,^  known  as  Istar. 
It  is  said  that  a  Syrian  woman  vowed,  in  case  the  saint 
granted  her  request,  she  would  serve  as  a  prostitute  three 
days.  And  a  Syrian  is  authority  for  the  statement  that 
Egyptian  women,  in  connection  with  the  molid  service,^  at 
a  shrine  in  Tanta,  follow  the  ancient  custom  of  Babylonia. 

1  Dr.  William  Van  Dyck  gave  the  following  account:  "At  Afka, 
a  wild  fig-tree,  besides  one  or  two  terebinths,  grows  out  of  the  east 
wall  of  the  ruined  temple,  which  is  considered  sacred,  and  is 
credited  by  all  the  inhabitants,  Maronites  as  well  as  Metawileh, 
with  healing  virtues.  It  \%Z2X\td.  Sayyidat-az-Zahra  (Our  Lady 
Venus,  Hterally  Lady  Venus).  The  word  sayyideh  designates 
the  Virgin."    Journal  X.,  summer  of  1901. 

2Book  I,  Cic:  "The  most  hateful  custom  among  the  Babylo- 
nians is  the  following:  Every  native  woman  must  once  in  her  life 
sit  in  the  Temple  of  Aphrodite  and  give  herself  up  to  some  stran- 
ger." The  price  of  her  prostitution  is  considered  sacred  to  the 
goddess.  Cf.  Deut.  xxiii.  18.  Is  there  a  hint  here  of  the  terrible 
crime  mentioned  in  Lev.  xviii.  23?  Such  customs,  doubtless  dating 
from  the  time  when  the  land  vomited  out  its  inhabitants  (Lev. 
xviii.  28,  Rev.  Ver.)  are  attested  as  existing  in  Baalbek  by  a  mis- 
sionary who  has  resided  long  in  the  vicinity.  Cf.  Doughty,  Arabia 
Deserta,  Cambridge,  1888,  Vol,  I.,  pp.  265,  266.  I  have  heard  of 
such  a  practice  among  a  tribe  of  the  Bedouin,  from  what  seems  to 
be  a  trustworthy  source.  This  may  be  a  survival  of  ancient  totem- 
ism.  Cf.  Barton,  Semitic  Origins,  Religious  and  Social,  New 
York,  1902,  p.  37. 

•'Hanna  Khizani  of  Hamath  visited  Tanta,  Egypt,  and  saw 
the  great  annual  festival  of  Seiyid  Ahmed  el-Bedawi,  "  probably 
the  most  popular  saint  in  Egypt,"  when  there  were  "  upwards  of 


<    <    TT^T    tr  ■»rT-.»T»    » 


PRIESTS   AND    HOLY    MEN  155 

Such  sporadic  rites,  if  they  exist  to-day,  have  come 
from  the  same  sentiment  as  underlay  human  sacrifice — 
that  the  worshiper  would  devote  his,  or  her,  most  pre- 
cious possession  to  God.  This,  rather  than  any  desire  for 
license,  must  be  the  explanation  of  religious  vows  and 
rites  on  which,  in  ancient  as  well  as  in  modern  times,  the 
devotee  must  have  looked  with  the  deepest  mortification 
and  loathing. 

half  a  million  persons"  present,  including  singers,  dancers,  jug- 
glers and  showmen  of  every  kind.  It  is  at  this  festival  that  "  some 
of  the  honorable  women  vow  the  use  of  their  bodies  to  the  first  one 
who  happens  to  approach  them,"  following  precisely  the  custom 
described  by  Herodotus. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

vows  AND  ANNUAL   FESTIVALS 

According  to  the  strict  tenets  of  Islam,  vows  are  con- 
trary to  its  fatalistic  philosophy.'  But  the  natural  reli- 
gion of  the  people  finds  expression  in  vows;  indeed,  there 
could  be  no  shrines  if  the  ordinary  people  did  not  believe 
in  saints  and  the  efficacy  of  vows  and  prayers.  Whether 
the  saint  is  regarded  simply  as  an  intercessor,  as  among 
orthodox  Moslems,  or  as  having  power  in  himself,  the 
worshiper  at  the  shrine  believes  that  evils  can  be  averted, 
and  misfortunes  changed  into  blessings. 

There  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  any  definite  view  as  to 
the  attitude  of  the  saints  with  respect  to  men.  It  is  the 
etiquette  of  the  country  not  to  approach  any  powerful 
person  without  a  gift,  and  it  is  a  belief,  deeply  ingrained, 
that  no  great  favors  are  to  be  expected  from  any  one  for 
nothing.  Besides,  there  is  the  feeling,  as  has  already 
been  remarked,  that  some  of  the  saints  are  to  be  feared 
rather  than  loved,  and  there  is  the  dread  of  spirits 
that  injure  men.  A  vow  may  be  given  in  advance  like  a 
retaining  fee  to  a  lawyer,  or  it  may  be  a  promise  that  if 
certain  benefits  are  received  the  thing  vowed  will  be 
given.  Vows  are  of  various  sorts,  and  will  be  more  par- 
ticularly considered  in  connection  with  sacrifice. 

There  are  vows  having  respect  to  the  personal  con- 

1  Mishcat  ul-Masabih;  or,  A  Collection  of  the  Most  Authentic 
Traditions  Regarding  the  Actions  and  Sayings  of  Muhammed, 
Vol.  IL,  p.  155:  "Do  not  make  a  vow  with  the  dependence  of  its 
opposing  fate,  because  a  vow  does  not  do  away  fate  and  predesti- 
nation, but  all  it  does  is  extracting  something  from  the  wealth  of 
the  miser." 

156 


13 


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vows   AND   ANNUAL   FESTIVALS  1 5/ 

dition  of  the  one  making  the  vow,  or  of  some  near  rela- 
tive. As  barrenness  is  considered  almost  the  greatest 
disgrace  that  can  befall  an  Oriental  woman,  and  girls  are 
not  reckoned  in  the  enumeration  of  a  family,  a  barren 
woman  often  seeks  a  son  from  a  local  saint,  or  well;  thus 
the  story  of  Hannah'  is  not  unfrequently  repeated.  One 
of  the  most  conspicuous  cases  was  related  to  me  by  Rev. 
E.  A.  Hanauer,  of  Jerusalem,  who  was  an  eye-witness  of 
part  of  the  incident.  There  was  a  Syrian  woman  who 
was  barren,  and  who,  in  the  bitterness  of  her  soul,  went 
to  Neby  Daud,  on  the  traditional  site  of  Mount  Zion,  and 
vowed  that  if  the  saint  would  give  her  a  son  she  would 
give  him  a  fat  sheep.  In  due  time  a  boy  was  born.  The 
father  and  mother,  on  their  way  to  the  shrine,  stopped 
to  rest  at  a  house,  where  the  missionary  heard  the  story 
from  the  lips  of  the  glad  mother.^  Sometimes  a  man 
vows  that  if  the  saint  will  grant  him  a  son  he  will  pay  for 
his  weight  in  silver  coins.  The  teacher  of  a  Greek  school 
in  Safita  was  present  at  the  payment  of  such  a  vow. 
When  the  silver  placed  in  the  balances  nearly  tipped  the 
scale,  the  father  threw  in  two  or  three  gold  pieces.^ 

Sometimes  a  woman,  in  her  ardent  desire  for  a  son, 
will  vow  that  if  the  saint  will  grant  her  request  she  will 
sacrifice  a  sheep  each  year.  Such  was  the  vow  of  a 
woman  at  the  cave  where  Abraham  is  reputed  to  have 
been  born  at  Berza  near  Damascus.  At  the  last  report 
she  had  already  sacrificed  three  sheep.  There  can  be  no 
question  that  barren  women,  as  the  result  of  such  vows, 
sometimes  receive  the  power  to  bear  children.  Perhaps 
this  is  an  indication  of  the  domination  of  the  mind  over 

*  I  Samuel  i.  9-1 1. 

2  The  same  incident  is  given  by  Lees,  Village  Life  in  Pales- 
tine, London,  1897,  pp.  24,  25. 

'This  was  given  by  Mr.  Yazzi.  Cf.  Ancient  Shrines  in  Northern 
Syria  in  The  Independent  for  1898,  p.  1448. 


158  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

the  body;  or,  as  a  native  physician  suggests,  the  very 
exertion  consequent  on  visiting  a  shrine  may  bring  the 
body  into  a  normal  condition.' 

When  the  little  ones  fall  ill  the  mothers  have  recourse 
to  the  saints.  The  following  is  an  incident  told  by  a 
Moslem  woman  with  respect  to  her  daughter,  at  the 
shrine  of  Nebi  Safa,  about  two  hours  and  a  half  from 
Rasheya.  Her  daughter  had  lost  one  son  and  another 
little  boy  of  nine  months  lay  gasping  in  her  lap.  She 
shrieked,  "To  whom  shall  I  vow,  mother?"  Her  mother 
replied,  "They  are  all  God's  prophets,  vow  to  whom  you 
please."  So  she  vowed  to  Mar  Elias  (St.  Elijah)  that 
if  her  boy  got  well  she  would  take  him  to  the  church  and 
have  him  baptized,  though  she  was  a  Moslem.  As  soon 
as  she  had  made  the  vow  the  child  gave  a  long  quivering 
sigh  and  recovered.  She  afterwards  carried  out  her 
promise.  Vows  of  this  kind  are  quite  common,  and  not 
a  few  Moslem  boys  thus  receive  Christian  baptism. 

The  formula  of  a  vow,  as  given  by  the  same  woman,  is : 
"O  prophet  of  God !  O  Safa !  leave  me  this  boy  and  I  will 
bring  you  a  sacrifice."  The  vow  is  addressed  directly  to 
the  prophet.  Another  form  is,  "I  need  so  and  so,  and  if 
you  will  do  so  and  so  for  me  I  will  bring  you  a  sacrifice." 

The  forms  of  vows  here  are  not  different  from  those 
of  the  ancient  Israelites.  It  was  Hannah  who  vowed  a 
vow  and  said,  "O  Lord  of  hosts,  if  thou  wilt  indeed  look 
on  the  affliction  of  thy  handmaid,  and  ....  wilt  give 
unto  thy  handmaid  a  man  child,  then  I  will  give  him  unto 
the  Lord  all  the  days  of  his  life."  ^  It  was  Jacob  who 
"vowed  a  vow,"  saying:  "If  God  will  be  with  me,  and 
will  keep  me  in  this  way  that  I  go,  and  will  give  me  bread 

'  This  is  the  view  of  Dr.  A.  A.  Antounyan  of  Aleppo,  as  ex- 
pressed to  me  in  an  interview  at  Brummana,  Aug.  16,  1901. 
^  1  Samuel  i.  11. 


vows   AND    ANNUAL    FESTIVALS  1 59 

to  eat  and  raiment  to  put  on,  so  that  I  come  again  to  my 
father's  house  in  peace,  then  shall  the  Lord  be  my  God 
....  and  of  all  that  thou  shalt  give  unto  me  I  will 
surely  give  the  centh  unto  thee."*  So  Absalom  asked 
permission  to  go  to  Hebron  to  pay  a  vow:  "For  thy  ser- 
vant vowed  a  vow  while  I  abode  at  Geshur  in  Syria,  say- 
ing: 'If  the  Lord  shall  indeed  bring  me  to  Jerusalem, 
then  I  will  serve  the  Lord.'  "  ^ 

Vows  are  restricted  to  actual  cases  of  need.  If  any 
member  of  a  family  falls  ill,  it  is  customary  to  offer  a 
sacrifice.  Mr.  Hanauer  of  Jerusalem  relates  that  a 
young  woman  belonging  to  a  Moslem  family  living  next 
door  fell  ill.  A  sheep  was  killed  at  the  door,  the  flesh 
was  cooked,  and  it  was  given  to  the  poor.  This  is  the 
most  meritorious  use  which  could  be  made  of  vows. 
There  is  an  allusion  to  such  a  use  of  vows  in  feeding  the 
poor  in  Ps.  xxii.  25,  26:  "I  will  fully  pay  my  vows  before 
them  that  fear  him;  the  miserable  shall  eat  and  be  satis- 
fied." This  language  is  perfectly  clear  in  the  light  of 
customs  in  the  disposition  of  vows  to-day;  the  miserably 
poor  often  eat  of  the  sacrificial  meals,  served  in  connec- 
tion with  vows,  and  are  satisfied.  Doughty  relates  how 
dependent  he  was  in  the  summer,  in  Arabia,  on  such 
sacrificial    feasts    to    keep    up    his    physical    strength.' 

'Gen.  xxviii.  20-22. 

2  2  Sam.  XV.  8. 

^Travels  in  Arabia  Deserta,  Cambridge,  1888,  Vol.  L,  p.  442: 

"Sorry  were  the  Aarab  to  mark  my  wasted  plight As  the 

sun's  vast  flaming  eye  rose  each  day  upon  us  ...  .  the  remem- 
brance revives  in  our  fainting  breasts  of  our  want,  with  the  hollow 
thought,  'What  sliall  be  for  this  day's  life?'    And  the  summer  I 

passed  thus  fasting Yet  in  this  low  state  there  was  liardly  a 

week  when  some  householder  had  not  a  sacrifice,  whether  .... 
for  tlie  birth  of  a  son,  for  his  recovery  from  sickness,  or  for  the 
health  of  his  camels.  Then  a  man's  friends  assembled  for  the  dis- 
tribution of  boiled  flesh;  they  look  also  for  the  thaif-Ullah  [guest 
of  God,  or  stranger]  and  I  went,  lest  any  should  forget  me." 


l6o  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

Delitzsch,  in  giving  the  passage  from  the  psalm  a  literal 
and  ritualistic  interpretation,  has  seen  the  true  meaning, 
which  some  other  modern  interpreters  have  missed.' 

There  are  certain  saints  that  have  almost  the  powers 
of  physicians  assigned  to  them.  Some  of  them  would 
seem  to  be  specialists.  They  perform  cures  for  rheuma- 
tism, for  bad  eyes,  and  other  ailments.  One  shrine,  near 
Solomon's  hot-air  baths,  about  four  hours  from  Karyaten, 
in  the  Syrian  desert,  is  good,  as  we  have  seen,  for  barren 
women. 

Vows  are  also  offered  by  people  setting  out  on  jour- 
neys, though  I  have  heard  of  only  one  shrine  where  this 
is  done,  at  Mahin,  in  the  Syrian  desert.  Such  a  vow  is 
natural,  and  is  probably  not  uncommon. 

A  large  number  of  vows  are  made  for  flocks  and  herds. 
These,  among  the  nomads,  are  liable  to  various  mishaps, 
to  disease,  and  from  marauding  bands.  Frequently  vil- 
lages in  the  Syrian  desert  are  despoiled  of  several  thou- 
sand sheep  and  goats.  Hence  it  is  customary  for  those 
who  have  flocks  and  herds  to  make  vows  to  the  weli ; 
that  is,  they  promise  him  a  gift  if  he  will  see  that  these 
possessions  are  kept  in  safety. 

'  A  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  Psalms,  New  York,  Vol.  !._,  p. 
397:  "There  is  no  need  to  assume  in  our  passage  that  in  the  mind 
of  David  the  paying  of  vows  is  a  purely  ethical  and  not  a  ritual 
act.  Having  been  delivered  he  will  bring  the  ....  thank-offerings, 
which  he  vowed  to  God  when  in  mortal  danger.  After  sprinkling 
of  the  blood  ....  and  the  laying  of  the  fat  pieces  upon  the  altar 
....  the  remaining  flesh  of  the  shelamim  was  appropriated  by 
the  offerer  for  joyous  feasts The  invitation  to  the  poor  to  par- 
ticipate in  these  feasts  .  .  .  .  is  suggested  by  these  legal  enactments. 
.  .  .  .  To  this  verse  27  refers:  He  will  invite  the  spiritually  and  out- 
wardly poor  to  this  '  eating  before  Jahve.'  "  But  Baethgen,  Hand- 
komrhentar  zum  Alten  Testament  says  of  verse  27:  "  Schwerlich  ist 
das  Essen  materiell  zu  verstehn,"  and  Duhm,  Die  Psalmen,  Frei- 
burg, 1899,  remarks:  "Essen  und  satt  werden"  ist  sprichwortlich 
fiir  "ganz  gliicklich  werden."  All  of  which  goes  to  show  how 
important  the  study  of  archaeology  is  for  the  Old  Testament  inter- 
preter. 


vows    AND    ANNUAL    FESTIVALS  l6l 

It  is  more  difficult  to  determine  how  far  the  saints  are 
regarded  as  patrons  of  the  land  like  the  ancient  Baalim. 
Hosea  indicates  a  custom  in  ancient  Israel,  where  the 
agriculturist,  believing  that  his  piece  of  ground  belonged 
to  a  particular  Baal,  and  that  he  could  not  expect  a  good 
harvest  without  the  favor  of  the  Baal,  was  accustomed 
to  seek  it  by  a  gift.  This  did  not  imply  that  he  might 
not  theoretically  recognize  Jehovah  as  the  God  of  the 
country.  He  did,  for  Hosea  represents  God  as  the  legit- 
imate husband,  and  the  various  Baalim  as  paramours. 
The  modern  Syrian,  whatever  he  may  say  of  God's 
power,  considers  the  saint  as  supreme  in  his  own  district. 

It  is  well  known  that  anything  placed  in  the  saint's 
shrine  is  safe.  I  have  seen  plows  and  other  agricultural 
implements  piled  up  on  the  grave  of  a  weli,  exposed  to 
the  sky;  and  timbers  leaning  against  the  walls  of  a  mezar 
in  the  land  of  the  children  of  Ammon;  and  grain  inside 
of  a  ruined  church  in  the  Druse  Mountains,  once  sacred 
to  St.  George,  now  known  as  Khuddr.  No  thief  would 
dare  to  touch  any  of  these.  No  Arab,  though  he  might 
seek  to  rob  a  threshing-floor  in  the  immediate  vicinity, 
would  ever  dream  of  invading  the  sacred  precincts  of  the 
makam.  He  would  expect  the  weli  to  visit  dire  ven- 
geance upon  him.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  boldest 
spirits  do  not  ordinarily  venture  to  molest  sacred  trees, 
because  they  are  considered  as  the  property  of  the  saint. 
On  his  premises  he  has  a  power  which  the  people  would 
never  think  of  assigning  to  God. 

Some  of  the  saints  are  regarded  as  well  nigh  omni- 
present; others  have  power,  according  to  Conder,  extend- 
ing fifteen  or  twenty  miles.'      It  is  true  that  some  of  the 

'Tent  Work  in  Palestine,  London,  i8g5,  p.  305:  "Tliis 
Mukam  represents  the  real  religion  of  the  peasant.  It  is  sacred 
as  the  place  where  some  saint  is  supposed  once  to  have  'stood' 
(the  name  signifying  'standing-place'),  or  else  it  is  consecrated  by 


i62  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

Fellahin  promise  a  certain  proportion  of  grain  to  the 
weli,  with  the  understanding  that  he  will  give  them  good 
harvests.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  a  survival  of  that  wor- 
ship described  by  Hosea  in  allegorical  language,  where  it 
is  said  that  Israel  considered  the  Baalim  the  givers  of  her 
corn,  her  wine,  her  wool,  and  her  flax,'  although  she  was 
directly  indebted  to  God  for  these  things.  So  the  Arab 
and  the  Fellahin  to-day,  whatever  views  they  may  pro- 
fess in  regard  to  God,  ask  the  saint  to  give  them  children, 
to  heal  their  diseases,  to  redeem  their  lives  from  destruc- 
tion, and  sometimes  to  give  them  bountiful  harvests.^ 
They  even  present  the  first-fruits  to  the  saint,  or  reserve 
certain  trees  or  vines  for  him,^  as  we  were  treated  at 
Nebi  Safa  to  some  of  the  fruit  from  the  saint's  mulberry- 
trees.*  This  resembles  old  Semitic  usage,  as  we  see 
from   certain   passages    in    the    Old    Testament.^      The 

some  other  connection  with  his  history.  It  is  the  central  point 
from  which  the  influence  of  the  saint  is  supposed  to  radiate, 
extending  in  the  case  of  a  powerful  sheik  to  a  distance  of  per- 
haps twenty  miles  all  around." 

1  Cf.  Hos.  ii.  5,  8,  12. 

2  It  is  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Theophilus  Waldmeier  of  Asfuri- 
yeh  that  "Syria  is  full  of  churches  and  convents  dedicated  to 
various  saints.  In  the  district  to  which  a  given  church  belongs, 
the  people  ask  the  saint  to  grant  a  blessing  on  their  land."  Jour- 
nal IX.,  summer  of  1900. 

3  Hanna  Demishky  of  Kerak,  who  was  in  Lydda  for  thirty- 
seven  years,  has  seen  a  woman  bring  the  first-fruits  of  her  vines 
to  a  saint.  They  were  eaten  by  the  people  who  were  present. 
Afterwards  she  was  permitted  to  enjoy  the  fruit.  Journal  VIII., 
summer  of  igoo. 

*"  We  took  lunch  under  one  of  the  mulberry  trees  that  is  said 
to  belong  to  the  Nebi.  There  are  four  trees  of  which  he  is  the 
owner.  When  they  brought  us  a  large  plate  of  mulberries,  they 
said  that  the  fruit  was  from  the  Nebi."  Journal  XIII.,  summer 
of  1901. 

«The  minister  of  the  kursi  said:  "  When  a  peasant  is  plant- 
ing he  says,  '  I  will  give  half  a  Mtdd  (about  two  gallons)  of  wheat 
or  barley  to  the  saint  if  I  have  a  good  harvest."      When  he  fulfills 


vows    AND    ANXUAL    FESTIVALS  1 63 

priests  of  the  shrines  and  the  monies  of  the  monasteries 
go  about  to  collect  the  cereal  vows.'  I  know  of  two 
such  cases.  The  minister  of  the  shrine  near  Hamath, 
called  Zeyn  el-' Abadeyn,  was  collecting  such  tithes  in  vil- 
lages near  Hamath,  and  it  was  said  that  he  was  likely 
to  be  gone  several  days;  so,  too,  the  minister  of  the 
shrine  of  Nebi  Safa  came,  while  we  were  waiting  for 
him,  with  a  large  sack  of  grain  which  he  had  received  in 
payment  of  a  vow. 

The  vows  are  either  paid  when  the  benefit  has  been 
received,  or  at  the  annual  festivals.  There  are  no  shrines 
which  are  not  the  recipients  of  vows,  but  there  are  many 
which  do  not  have  an  annual  festival.  Even  such  an 
important  shrine  as  Nebi  Daud  at  Jerusalem,  has  no 
yearly  festival.  There  are  others,  like  Nebi  Musa,  near 
the  Dead  Sea ;  Nebi  Rubin,  south  of  Jaffa ;  and  Nebi  Salah, 
in  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula,  which  are  sometimes  attended 
by  thousands  of  people. 

With  respect  to  Nebi  Musa,  the  festival  occurs  on  the 
Friday  before  the  Greek  Good  Friday,  old  style.  The 
attendance  is  estimated  at  fifteen  thousand,  from  all  parts 
of  the  country.  It  lasts  for  seven  days.  The  people 
bring  their  vows,  which  they  have  vowed  during  the 
preceding  year,  to  offer  them  at  the  festival.      Besides, 

his  vow  he  presents  the  grain  to  the  poor.  It  is  very  common  that 
two  of  the  vines  in  a  vineyard  should  be  dedicated  to  Khuddr. 
When  a  man  sold  a  field  he  said,  '  I  must  clear  my  conscience, 
by  telling  you  that  there  are  two  vines  in  it  that  belong  to  the 
saint.'"  Journal  X.,  summer  of  1901.  Cf.  Ex.  xxiii.  ii;  Lev.  xi.x. 
9.  10- 

'  In  connection  with  such  a  great  shrine  as  that  of  St,  George  in 
northern  Syria  they  liave  agents  ai)pointed  in  every  town  by  the 
monastery  who  are  empowered  to  receive  the  vows  of  the  people. 
Such  vows  consist  of  Hocks,  of  grain,  etc.  Thus  the  income  of 
this  shrine,  which  is  the  most  popular  in  all  Syria,  is  very  large. 
Journal  XII.,  summer  of  1901. 


164  PRIMITIVE    SEiMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

the  priestly  family  provides  about  twelve  lambs  a  day, 
with  rice,  bread,  and  Arab  butter/ 

At  Nebi  Rubin  the  people  spend  a  month.  From  the 
loth  to  the  20th  of  September  they  flock  together  in 
greater  numbers  than  at  other  times,  and  the  poor  save 
provisions  for  this  festival  throughout  the  year.  The 
shrine  is  exclusively  for  Moslems,  though  during  the  past 
ten  years,  adherents  of  the  Greek  Church  have  attended 
the  festival.  They  kill  many  sheep  and  goats  in  fulfil- 
ment of  vows.  To  these  feasts  they  invite  the  sheiks, 
the  derwishes,  and  the  poor  people.  The  nights  are 
spent  in  dancing,  singing,  and  rejoicing;  besides,  there 
is  a  special  dance,  called  zikr^  in  which  from  thirty  to 
fifty  people  unite,  including  derwishes.  They  have  a 
leader  who  tries  to  excite  them.^  During  the  day  the 
Bedouin  give  exhibitions  of  horse  racing. 

From  Burckhardt  and  Tischendorf  we  may  gather 
interesting  pictures  of  the  ceremonies  and  festivities 
attending  the  performance  of  vows  at  the  shrine  of  Sheik 
Salah:  "The  coffin  of  the  sheik  is  deposited  in  a  small 
rude  stone  building;  and  is  surrounded  by  a  thin  parti- 
tion of  wood  hung  with  green  cloth,  upon  which  several 
prayers  are  embroidered.  On  the  walls  are  suspended  silk 
tassels,  handkerchiefs,  ostrich  eggs,  camel  halters, 
bridles,  etc.,  the  offerings  of  the  Bedouin  who  visit  this 
tomb  ....  [in]  the  most  revered  spot  in  the  peninsula, 
next  to  the  Mountain  of  Moses;  they  make  frequent  vows 
to  kill  a  sheep  in  honor  of  the  sheik  should  a  wished-for 
event  take  place;  and  if  this  happens,  the  votary  repairs 
to  the  tomb  with  his  family  and  friends,  and  there  passes 

'  Information  communicated  by  one  of  the  priests  of  the  shrine, 
through  Mr.  C.  Hornstein  of  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian- 
ity Among  the  Jews,    Journal  VIII.,  summer  of  1900. 

^Hanna  Demishky,  ibid. 


vows   AND   ANNUAL   FESTIVALS  165 

a  day  of  conviviality.  Once  in  every  year  all  the  tribes 
of  the  Towara  repair  hither  in  pilgrimage,  and  remain 
encamped  in  the  valley  round  the  tomb  for  three  days. 
Many  sheep  are  then  killed,  camel  races  are  run,  and  the 
whole  night  is  passed  in  dancing  and  singing.  The  men 
and  women  are  dressed  in  their  best  attire.  The  festi- 
val, which  is  the  greatest  among  these  people,  usually 
takes  place  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  when  the  Nile 
begins  to  rise  in  Egypt,  and  the  plague  subsides."  ' 

Tischendorf's  account  of  what  he  saw  as  a  witness  of 
the  same  festival  may  serve  as  an  interesting  conclusion : 

"After  a  brief  hour  there  was  a  solemn  procession  around 
the  tomb  of  the  prophet.     The  women  went  in  advance 

most   modestly  dressed The    procession  moved 

up  the  hill  around  the  tomb,  and  finally  entered  it,  where 
the  women  appeared  to  pray  for  some  minutes.  In  con- 
nection with  the  procession  youths  led  the  sacrificial 
lambs  to  the  hill.  A  few  hairs  were  cut  from  their  fore- 
heads, and  they  were  scratched  until  they  bled.  Then 
followed  the  slaughter  of  all  these  fifty  or  sixty  lambs. 
....  They  were  hung  up  on  the  tents,  their  skins  were 
removed,  and  with  great  knives,  which  served  as  short 
swords,  they  were  cut  into  several  pieces. 

"While  the  meal  was  being  prepared  on  the  fire  there 

was   a    race   between   the    dromedaries Next   in 

order  was  the  feast.      All  the  meat  was  cooked 

All  [the  people]  reclined  in  groups;  in  each  case,  from 
four  to  six  were  grouped  in  a  small  circle  around  the  skin 
of  the  lamb.  The  meat  was  brought  in  great  wooden 
bowls,  and  was  put  on  each  skin.  Of  this  all  partook,  as 
well  as  of  Arab  bread  and  cold  water."  ^ 

This  account  should  have  been  followed  by  the  descrip- 

'  Travels  in  Syria  and  the  Holy  Land,  London,  1822,  p.  490. 
^  Reise  in  den  Orient,  Leipzig,  1846,  pp.  212,  213. 


l66  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

tion  of  a  dance,  which  was  prevented  by  a  storm.  It  is 
described,  however,  by  Schimper,  who  witnessed  it.' 
The  dance  was  participated  in  by  men  and  women,  and 
was  accompanied  by  singing  and  clapping  of  hands.  It 
was  of  a  very  graceful  and  solemn  character,  and  I  fancy 
was  much  like  a  dance  I  saw  at  a  wedding  feast  in  north- 
ern Syria,  where  men  and  women  danced  in  a  line,  com- 
prising perhaps  twenty  people,  whose  hands  were  joined, 
five  women  being  at  the  end  of  the  line.  Such  a  dance 
would  be  very  different  from  that  already  mentioned  at 
Nebi  Rubin,  in  which  the  derwishes  had  a  part,  and  of 
which  there  was  a  leader  who  sought  to  excite  them. 
Such  a  dance  I  saw  at  Tell  el-Safi,  in  which  an  archaeolo- 
gist joined.  He  tried  to  stimulate  them  by  shots  from 
his  revolver. 

The  features  so  graphically  sketched  are  to  be  found 
at  other  shrines.  Multitudes  gather  dressed  in  their 
best.  There  is  one  particular  day,  the  great  day  of  the 
feast,  but  the  rest  of  the  time  is  spent  in  races,  dances, 
and  other  amusements. 

Looking  back  from  the  modern  Semites  we  find  the 
same  customs  among  the  ancient  Semites.  At  the  Sinai 
of  the  time  of  Moses  were  the  same  observances  as  in  the 
time  of  Tischendorf.  It  was  nothing  new,  or  different 
from  present-day  usages,  when  Aaron,  after  he  had  fin- 
ished the  calf,  and  built  an  altar,  "made  proclamation 
and  said.  To-morrow  shall  be  a  feast  to  the  Lord.  And 
they  rose  up  early  on  the  morrow,  and  offered  burnt- 
offerings,  and  brought  peace  offerings,  and  the  people 
sat  down  to  eat  and  drink,  and  rose  up  to  play."  As 
Moses  drew  near  he  heard  singing,  and  saw  the  dancing.^ 
As  an  adjunct  of  legitimate  worship,  such  dancing  is  not 

'  Ebers,  Durch  Gosen  Zum  Sinai,  Leipzig,  1872,  pp.  246,  247. 
^Ex.  xxxii.  5,  6,  19. 


vows   AND   ANNUAL   FESTIVALS  1 67 

open  to  criticism.  At  the  annual  feast  of  the  Lord  at 
Shiloh  the  maidens  of  Shiloh  were  accustomed  to  engage 
in  dances.' 

When,  at  Nebi  Rubin  and  the  other  shrines,  the  man 
who  brings  the  vows  eats  them  with  poor  people,  der- 
wishes  and  others,  he  is  on  the  basis  of  old  Deuteronomic 
usage,  which  has  been  observed  at  the  shrines  for  thou- 
sands of  years. ^  The  feasts  described  in  Amos  were  not 
radically  different  in  form  from  those  observed  at  many 
shrines,  where  the  people,  to  quote  the  expression  of  a 
Syrian  physician  who  had  studied  in  America,  "have 
a  regular  picnic."  ' 

We  have  seen  that  at  the  annual  festival  animals  are 
often  provided  which  have  no  connection  with  the  pay- 
ment of  vows.  They  are  the  contribution  of  the  congre- 
gation, or  of  the  sheik  in  their  behalf. 

If  vows  are  not  brought  at  the  annual  festival,  they 
are  taken  to  the  shrines  at  other  times.  The  villagers, 
or  the  immediate  friends  of  the  person  who  has  made  a 
vow,  if  it  be  of  the  herd  or  flock,  are  summoned  to  par- 
take of  it,  unless  the  man  should  give  it  to  the  poor. 

Vows  are  of  various  sorts.  A  man  may  vow  his  son 
or  daughter  to  the  saint.  In  that  case  the  child  is  not 
slain,  as  may  once  have  been  the  case,  but  is  redeemed. 
Of  such  cases  there  are  various  examples.  Walpole 
mentions  one.  He  says:  "A  poor  girl  had  been  given 
me;  being  rather  at  a  loss  how  to  dispose  of  such  a 
present,  I  gave  her  to  the  mazar.  This  is  a  common 
custom  among  fathers;  they  dedicate  before  or  after 
birth  their  children  to  particular  saints;  these,  when  of 
age,  are  made  to  labor  for  the  benefit  of  the  deceased. 

'  Judg.  xxi.  ig,  21. 

2  Deut.  xii.  11,  12,  17,  18. 

'Cf.  Amos  V.  21-23. 


1 68  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

Girls  thus  vowed  have  a  hard  life  of  it,  and  it  is  a  con- 
troverted question  whether  they  may  marry  or  not;  but 
if  they  do,  they  must  remain  on  the  spot  and  labor."  ' 

Such  a  vow  may  be  a  remnant  of  the  kind  which 
Jephthah  used,  when  he  "vowed  a  vow  unto  the  Lord, 
and  said.  If  thou  wilt  indeed  deliver  the  children  of 
Ammon  into  my  hand,  then  it  shall  be,  that  whatsoever 
cometh  forth  of  the  doors  of  my  house  to  meet  me,  when 
I  return  in  peace  from  the  children  of  Ammon,  it  shall 
be  the  Lord's,  and  I  will  offer  it  up  for  a  burnt-offering," 
and  found  he  had  vowed  his  daughter.  As  the  modern 
Semite  insists  on  the  literal  fulfilment  of  his  vow  in 
every  particular,'''  it  seems  altogether  probable  that  when 
he  "did  with  her  according  to  his  vow,  which  he  had 
vowed,"  he  offered  her  up  as  a  burnt-offering.' 

It  is  said  to  be  customary  among  Christians,  where 
there  is  only  one  child  in  the  family,  to  make  a  vow  to 
slay  a  goat  or  sheep  at  the  annual  festival.  The  origin 
of  the  custom  is  supposed  to  be  that  they  vow  the  child 
to  the  saint;  thus  every  year  they  offer  an  animal  to  the 
saint,  as  long  as  the  child  lives. 

^The  Ansayrii,  London,  1851,  Vol.  Ill,,  p.  377. 

2  Ahmed  Ghazaleh,  a  peasant  of  Nebk,  said:  "  One  must  always 
follow  the  wording  of  a  vow.  For  example,  his  uncle  coming  from 
Tripoli  with  a  load  of  rice  got  into  trouble  at  the  ford,  and  vowed 
a  rotl  of  rice  to  a  holy  man  who  was  in  his  house  at  the  time.  _  The 
mule  came  out  of  the  ford  safely,  but  his  uncle  did  not  mention  it 
to  the  holy  man.  God,  however,  revealed  it  to  him,  and  he  took 
the  uncle  to  task,  and  required  him  to  pay  his  vow."    Journal  XI. 

A  woman  agreed  to  make  her  husband  divorce  her  in  order  to 
marry  a  man  who  was  in  love  with  her.  She  made  her  lover  swear 
by  Saint  Abbas  that  he  would  marry  her  when  she  was  divorced. 
Later,  when  she  had  carried  out  her  portion  of  the  agreement,  he 
declined  to  fulfil  his.  So  she  went  to  the  shrine,  shook  the  pall 
over  the  tomb  of  the  saint,  and  appealed  to  him  to  make  the  man 
fulfil  his  promise.  The  man  fell  ill  at  once,  and  was  brought  to 
the  shrine,  where  the  marriage  ceremony  was  concluded.  Journal 
XII. 

sjudg.  xi.  30,  31,  34-36. 


vows   AND    ANNUAL    FESTIVALS  1 69 

A  woman,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  previous  chapter,  may 
vow  her  own  body.  Such  a  vow,  according  to  Moslem 
law,  is  void,'  but  the  practice  survives  in  spite  of  the 
prohibition. 

While  the  life  of  animals  is  most  commonly  vowed,  I 
must  reserve  the  discussion  of  the  significance  of  this 
until  I  come  to  treat  of  sacrifice.  Vows  are  often  made 
of  oil,  of  bread  to  prisoners,  or  to  the  unfortunate,  or  of 
money.  Even  dances  are  vowed  at  certain  shrines. 
There  is  probably  no  festival  without  dancing.  These 
are  simply  the  joyful  accessories  of  a  sacred  feast,  and 
the  people  do  not  regard  the  exercise  of  the  terpsichorean 
art  as  in  any  sense  a  sacred  rite.  But  there  are  well- 
attested,  exceptional  cases  where  it  is  so  regarded,  and 
where  the  sheika  leads  the  dance  in  honor  of  the  saint, 
as  Miriam  led  the  dances  in  honor  of  Jehovah  in  the  days 
of  old.  Long  investigation  developed  the  fact  that 
dancing  before  the  saint  may  be  as  truly  a  religious  rite 
as  when  "David  danced  before  the  Lord  with  all  his 
might.  "^ 

From  all  our  consideration  of  vows,  it  is  clear  that 
they  are  designed  to  dispose  the  saint  favorably  to  the 
suppliant,  so  that  he  may  receive  the  petition  that  he 
seeks. 

'  C£.  Hedaya,  Vol.  L,  p.  502:  "  If  a  man  bind  himself  by  a  vow, 
to  the  commission  of  a  sin  ....  it  is  incumbent  on  him  to  violate 
his  vow  and  perform  an  expiation." 

^2  Sam.  vi.  14. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

THE   INSTITUTION   OF   SACRIFICE 

While  the  institution  of  sacrifice  exists  as  a  part  of 
the  ritual  of  Islam/  and  in  connection  with  the  pilgrim- 
age to  Mecca,^  it  is  evident  that  the  custom  of  sacrificing 
at  shrines  and  in  other  places  has  not  been  derived  from 
the  Moslem  ritual,  but  that  it  has  existed  as  usage 
through  the  millenniums.  Indeed  sacrifice,  as  practised 
among  the  Moslems,  and  at  the  shrines,  may  be  traced 
back  to  the  ancient  Semites.  The  custom  of  offering 
sacrifices  on  the  tenth  day  of  the  pilgrim  month  was 
directly  derived  from  the  "times  of  ignorance."  ^  "The 
idolatrous  Arabs  had  been  in  the  habit  of  making  an 
annual  pilgrimage  to  Mecca The  offering  of  ani- 
mals in  sacrifice  formed  a  part  of  the  concluding  cere- 
mony of  that  pilgrimage.  That  portion,  the  sacrifice  of 
animals,  Muhammad  adopted  from  the  pagan  Arabs  in 
the  feast  which  now,  at  Madina,  he  substituted  for  the 
Jewish  fast."*     The  sacrifices  at   the   shrines  represent 

>  Cf.  Hamilton,  The  Hedaya,  or  Guide;  a  Commentary  on  the 
Mussulman  Laws,  London,  1791,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  76:  "  It  is  the  duty  of 
every  free  Mussulman  arrived  at  the  age  of  maturity  to  offer_  sac- 
rifice on  the  Eed  Kirbaji,  or  festival  of  the  sacrifice."  This  is  on 
the  tenth  of  the  month  of  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca. 

2Cf.  Sale,  The  Koran,  London,  1734,  p.  120:  "The  tenth  of 
Dhiil-hajja,  the  pilgrims  slay  their  victims  in  the  said  valley  of 
Mina,  of  which  they  and  their  friends  eat  part,  and  the  rest  is 
given  to  the  poor." 

8See  Sell,  The  Faith  of  Islam,  London,  1896,  p.  321. 

^This  is  evident  from  the  customs  of  the  ancient  Arabs,  as  indi- 
cated in  the  Koran  (VI.  135).  See  Palmer's  note.  The  Qur'an,  Part 
I.,  p.  132:  "The  pagan  Arabs  used  to  set  apart  certain  of  the 
produce  of  their  fields  to  Allah  the  chief  God,  and  other  portions 

170 


THE   INSTITUTION   OF   SACRIFICE  171 

a  usage  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  Islam,  and 
with  the  latest  form  of  the  Israelitish  ritual,'  but  present 
striking  points  of  contact  with  the  worship  of  the  Baalim, 
as  practised  among  the  ancient  Semites.^ 

There  is  no  place,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  where  any 
portion  of  the  sacrifice  comes  upon  the  altar.  Indeed 
there  is  no  altar  unless  the  threshold  or  the  stone  used 
by  Arabs  in  the  immolation  of  victims  be  regarded  as 
such.  The  part  of  the  animal  which  is  left,  after  the 
minister  or  the  saint  has  received  his  due,  is  used  for  a 
feast.  If  this  is  the  oldest  mode  of  sacrifice,  as  the  critics 
claim,'  it  is  of  interest  to  remember,  that  aside  from  the 
celebration  of  the  Samaritan  Passover,^  on  Mount  Geri- 
zim,  it  is  the  only  form  which  has  been  retained  by  the 
modern  Semites. 

Such  sacrifices,  aside  from  those  ordained  in  the 
Moslem  ritual,  are  made  by  the  mass  of  the  people  to 
the  well,  either  at  his  shrine,  or  at  the  home  of  the  one 
offering  them.^  An  orthodox  Moslem  may  give  a  differ- 
to  minor  deities  of  their   pantheon This  custom  survives 

to  a  certain  extent  in  the  desert  to  the  present  day." 

'As  seen  in  the  priestly  portions  of  the  Pentateuch. 
"Hos.  ii.  5-8,  ii-i3(R.  v.). 

3  See  W.  Robertson  Smith,  Ency.  Brit.,  ninth  ed.,  Vol.  XXI. 
p.  133- 

^Appendix  F. 

'According  tothe  servant  of  the  kursi,  a  man  may  slay  his 
offering  in  the  village  where  lie  resides,  especially  if  it  is  far 
away.  In  case  of  necessity  he  may  even  sell  it  and  bring  the 
money  received  to  be  expended  for  the  shrine  (cf.  Deut.  xiv.  24-26). 
But  the  ministers  of  some  shrines  are  inclined  to  frown  upon 
the  custom  of  preparing  the  sacrificial  meal  away  from  the  shrine. 
Thus  the  sheik  at  Berza  said  that  a  man  who  brought  a  meal 
already  prepared  found,  to  his  great  mortification,  that  the  meat 
was  sour  when  he  came  to  set  it  before  his  guests.  If  the  minister 
does  not  live  at  the  shrine,  and  it  is  difficult  of  access,  like  that  of 
Mount  Hor,  or  the  kursi  on  Mount  Zebedani,  it  is  quite  common 
to  slay  and  eat  the  victims  at  the  home  of  the  one  presenting  the 
sacrifice. 


172  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

ent  account  of  them,  but  the  views  of  the  people  who  offer 
them  must  be  determinative.  It  is  certain  that  they  seek 
help  of  the  weli,  and  that  their  vows  are  made  directly 
to  him,  and  are  paid  to  him. 

While  the  ordinary  word  for  sacrifice  and  slaughtering 
is  the  same,  as  in  Hebrew,'  there  is  never  any  doubt  in 
the  mind  of  the  modern  Semite  that  what  he  has  killed 
has  a  sacrificial  character.  There  are  abundant  facts 
from  which  to  make  an  induction.  I  never  found  any 
question  as  to  the  use  intended  in  the  offerings  made  at 
the  shrines. 

We  must  remember  that  the  great  majority  of  sacri- 
fices are  made  in  payment  of  vows  furnished  to  some  saint. 
As  soon  as  the  animal  is  killed,  it  ceases  to  belong  to  the 
one  who  offered  it,  and  becomes  the  property  of  the  weli. 
This  fact  is  sometimes  clearly  recognized  in  the  sacri- 
ficial feast,  when  the  man  who  brings  the  offering  says, 
in  inviting  the  people  to  the  meal  following  the  sacri- 
fice: "This  feast  does  not  belong  to  us,  it  belongs  to  the 
saint This  feast  is  given  at  his  expense."  ^ 

The  ritual  observed  among  Mohammedan  Semites  in 
slaying  the  animal  has  been  modified  to  some  extent. 
The  victim,  if  a  sheep  or  a  goat,  is  thrown  down  upon  its 

1  The  word  dhabh  (Egyptian  pronunciation  zabh,  Heb.  zabah), 
signifies  the  act  of  slaughtering,  sacrificing.  It  is  an  interesting 
fact  that  madhbah  may  be  rendered  either  altar  or  slaughter-house. 
The  other  Arabic  terms  for  sacrifice  may  be  found  in  Hughes* 
Dictionary  of  Islam,  London,  1896,  pp.  55 iff. 

2  Journal  XII.,  summer  of  1901 :  "  If  they  fulfil  all  the  regula- 
tions exactly  in  respect  to  slaughtering  and  eating,  the  samt  is 
well  pleased  with  them.  The  most  important  thing  is  the  expres- 
sion of  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  saint  (Deut.  xii.  12).  The  saint 
is  present,  but  he  does  not  eat  with  them.  He  is  the  host,  they  are 
all  his  guests.  The  men  who  present  the  sacrifice  say,  '  This  is 
not  ours,  come  and  eat.'  "  There  were  several  times  when  the 
ministers  of  shrines  spoke  of  the  sacrificial  meal  as  being  at 
the  expense  of  the  saint  ("on  his  purse,"  kis). 


THE    INSTITUTION   OF   SACRIFICE  173 

left  side,  and  its  throat  is  cut,  as  has  been  customary, 
doubtless,  from  time  immemorial.  But  in  accordance 
with  the  usage  of  Islam,  the  butcher  or  the  one  killing 
the  animal,  says:  "In  the  name  of  God,  God  is  great,"  ' 
and  the  minister  of  the  shrine,  known  as  the  religious 
sheik,  sometimes  reads  the  first  sura  of  the  Koran. ^ 
After  the  minister  has  received  his  quarter,  the  rest  of 
the  animal  is  boiled,  and  may  be  served  as  in  any  other 
feast,  with  boiled  rice,  or  wheat,  or  with  loaves  of  Arab 
bread.  Such  seems  to  have  been  the  mode  of  preparing 
the  sacrifice  in  the  time  of  Eli,  when  the  priest,  Hophni, 
or  Phineas,  sent  around  his  servant  to  demand  his  por- 
tion before  the  fat  was  burned,  and  failing  in  this, 
plunged  his  fork  into  the  pot  to  take  what  belonged  to 
his  master.  ^ 

1  do  not  know  that  the  modern  priest  of  the  shrine 
makes  so  strong  a  demand ;  he  sometimes  yields  that 
which  belongs  to  him.  When  there  are  many  guests, 
and  the  one  who  offers  the  sacrifice  fears  there  is  not 
enough  flesh  to  provide  for  all,  he  may  ask  the  minister 
to  give  up  his  share.  Such  a  request  is  sometimes 
granted.* 

In  some  localities  only  males  are  used.      This  is  true 

•  "Bismillah!  Allahu  akbar."  Burton,  Personal  Narrative  ot 
a  Pilgrimage  to  Al-Madinah  and  Mecca,  London,  1893,  Vol.  II.,  p. 
217,  also  frequent  notices  in  my  Journals. 

2  This  is  customary  in  the  payment  of  vows,  according  to  the 
testimony  of  many  natives.  In  offering  the  annual  dahhiyeh  sac- 
rifice, whether  on  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  or  at  home,  it  is  usual 
to  deliver  a  stereotyped  sermon  before  the  sacrifice.  See  Sell, 
The  Faith  of  Islam,  London,  1896,  pp.  323??. 

*  I  Sam.  ii.  12-16. 

*We  were  told  by  the  minister  of  Nebi  Safa  (Journal  XIII, 
1901):  "If  their  three-quarters  are  not  enough  for  the  company 
(after  the  priest  has  had  his  cjuarter]  they  make  the  priest  give  up 
his  quarter  or  pay  him  for  it.  ' 


I74         PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

among  the  Nusairiyeh'  and  Ismailiyeh,^  who  consider 
females  unfit  for  food  or  for  sacrifice.  It  is  possible  that 
the  rejection  of  females  is  due  to  the  very  low  view  which, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  Nusairiyeh  have  of  women,  who 
they  say  were  "created  from  the  sins  of  satans.^  Be 
this  as  it  may,  they  use  only  males  in  sacrifice.  These 
must  be  at  least  six  months  old,  but  are  usually  older.* 
Camels  are  also  rejected  by  these  Shiite  sects,  although 
specified  by  the  prophet  as  fit  for  sacrifice.' 

The  offerings  are  in  general  to  be  without  blemish, 
and  in  this  respect,  the  regulation  may  have  been  influ- 
enced by  Islam,  or  that  of  Islam  may  have  been  derived 
from  ancient  Semitic  usage.  They  may  be  of  the  herd 
or  of  the  flock,  or  even  of  fowls.  A  cock  may  be  offered 
if  the  one  paying  his  vow  is  too  poor  to  bring  a  more 
expensive  offering.^  A  bullock  or  camel  is  considered  a 
sufficient  offering  for  seven  persons.  This,  too,  is  accord- 
ing to  the  ritual  of  Islam.' 

1  Journal  XL,  pp.  57-58  (June  29,  1901):  "They  are  exceed- 
ingly particular  never  to  eat  the  flesh  of  the  female,  though  they 
drink  the  milk.  It  is  customary  for  the  butchers  to  afford  ocular 
demonstration  that  the  carcass  is  that  of  a  male.  The  aunt  of  our 
informant,  when  a  bullock  was  killed,  called  one  of  the  Nusairiyeh 
to  see  that  it  was  a  male,  so  that  he  need  not  afterwards  scruple 
to  eat  it." 

^Ibid.,  p.  46:  "The  sacrifice  must  be  a  perfect  male  of  the 
flock,  at  least  a  year  old.     They  sacrifice  it  to  the  weli. 

3 "  They  do  not  teach  women  prayer,  because  they  believe  they 
were  created  from  the  sins  of  the  satans,  so  that  it  is  known  from 
their  belief  that  the  souls  of  women  are  to  perish  like  animals." 
Nofel  Effendi  Nofel,  History  of  Religion  (Arabic). 

*  Journal  XL:  "  Sacrifices  should  be  perfect.  A  female  may  be 
used  if  not  with  young.  A  sheep  must  be  more  than  a  year  old,  a 
goat  or  bullock  more  than  two  years  old." 

'The  Koran,  xxii.  35. 

^Journal  XII.:  "St.  Rih  once  revealed  to  his  minister  in  a 
vision,  that  when  the  suppliant  could  not  bring  a  complete  sacri- 
fice lie  would  accept  a  perfect  cock,  a  perfect  roll  oi  bread  (5  lbs. 
10  oz.),  and  a  perfect  piastre  (four  cents). 

'Hedaya,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  TJ. 


THE    INSTITUTION   OF   SACRIFICE  1 75 

There  is  a  great  difference,  as  has  been  intimated, 
between  the  orthodox  sacrifices  of  the  Moslems  and 
those  offered  by  the  people  at  the  various  shrines. 

The  sacrifices  offered  by  orthodox  Moslems  are  in 
connection  with  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  on  the  tenth 
of  the  pilgrim  month,  about  three  miles  from  the  sacred 
city,  at  Muna.'  These  sacrifices  are  called  dahhiyeh} 
The  meaning  of  the  term  is  not  clear.  It  comes  from  a  root 
which  signifies  "early  in  the  morning,"  so  it  is  supposed 
to  indicate  those  sacrifices  which  are  offered  about  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  These  sacrifices  are  in  com- 
memoration of  the  sacrifice  of  Ishmael,'  by  Abraham  his 
father.  They  are  not  used  at  all  for  feasting  by  those 
who  are  most  pious,  but  are  buried,  or  are  appropriated 
by  Bedouin.* 

Besides  the  dahhiyeh  at  Muna,  the  faithful  all  over  the 
Moslem  world  are  required  to  offer  sacrifices  in  com- 
memoration of  Abraham's  sacrifice  on  the  tenth  of  the 
pilgrim  month.  Hence  the  strange  scene  may  be  wit- 
nessed of  sheep  and  goats  slaughtered  in  the  streets  of 
Damascus,  on  this  day;  though  otherwise  it  is  contrary 
to    law  to    slay  animals  outside    the  slaughter-houses.^ 

>  Sell,  The  Faith  of  Islam,  p.  297. 

2  There  are  other  forms  and  transliterations  used,  e.g.,  Hughes 
op.  cit.,  Uzhiyah,  Sell,  op.  cit.,  Idiiz-Zuha,  "the  feast  of  sacrifice." 
^This  is  the  Arab  form  of  the  tradition. 

*  Journal  VIII.:  "Ahmed  Hindi  of  Damascus,  who  had  been  on 
a  pilgrimage  three  times,  said,  '  They  do  not  eat  the  sheep,  but 
put  it  in  a  hole  in  the  ground.'  "  Cf.  Burton,  op.  cit.,  p.  218.  "  It  is 
considered  a  meritorious  act  to  give  away  the  victim  without  eat- 
ing any  portion  of  the  flesh.  Parties  of  Takruri  might  be  seen 
sitting  vulture-like,  contemplating  the  sheep  and  goats,  and  no 
sooner  was  the  signal  given  than  they  fell  upon  the  bodies  and 
cut  them  up  without  removing  them."  Cf.  Burckhardt,  Travels 
in  Arabia,  London,  1829,  p.  276. 

*  Mrs.  John  Crawford  of  Damascus  saw  thousands  of  sheep 
and  goats  on  the  tenth  of  the  pilgrim  month,  waiting  in  the  streets 
of  Damascus  to  have  their  throats  cut. 


176  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

They  are  also  put  to  death  in  cemeteries  and  in  the 
courts  of  private  houses. 

Through  the  influence  of  ancient  Semitic  custom  this 
great  sacrifice  has  come  to  be  diverted  from  its  original 
use.  It  is  employed  for  the  dead,  though  the  people 
make  the  distinction  between  the  ordinary  sacrifice  for 
the  dead  and  the  dahhiyeh  by  saying  that  the  blood  of  the 
latter  is  holy  and  that  it  is  of  use  on  the  judgment  day. 

There  are  other  sacrifices  which  are  offered  by  Mos- 
lems on  their  pilgrimage,  because  of  their  shortcomings 
in  the  rites  required,  either  through  inability  or  indispo- 
sition to  endure  the  hardships  which  are  imposed  on 
pilgrims.' 

The  traditional  sacrifices  offered  at  the  shrines,  by 
the  various  sects  of  Islam,  as  well  as  by  Christians,  are 
entirely  distinct  from  the  sacrifices  just  described,  and 
have  evidently  been  transmitted  from  ancient  times. 

The  spirit  of  all  sacrifices  made  at  the  shrines,  as  has 
been  observed,  is  contrary  to  Islam.  Through  them 
worship  is  rendered  to  the  saints,  to  whom  divine  powers 
are  assigned.  As  in  ancient  Israel,  there  is  syncretism. 
Just  as  the  Israelite  claimed  that  Jehovah  was  his 
national  God,  while  he  engaged  in  Baal  worship,  so 
there  are  many  Moslems  who  confess  no  God  but  God, 
and  Mohammed  as  the  prophet  of  God,  who  yet  recog- 
nize the  saints  as  their  real  deities;  not  only  Bedouin, 
Arabs,  and  Fellahin,  who  are  simply  Moslems  by  profes- 
sion, but  also  multitudes  who  sincerely  confess  the  Mos- 
lem faith.  Shrines  are  found  everywhere,  as  we  have 
seen.  They  exist  because  the  people  make  vows  to  the 
saints,  and  in  payment  of  these  vows,  sacrifices  are  being 

^  Cf.  Burton,  op.  cit.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  140.  He  adds  in  a  note,  "  The 
victim  is  sacrificed  as  a  confession  that  the  offender  deems  him- 
self worthy  of  death,  " 


THE    INSTITUTION    OF   SACRIFICE  1 77 

continually  offered  in  addition  to  those  made  at  the 
annual  festivals,  or  in  connection  with  the  annual  dahhiyeh 
sacrifice. 

Besides  the  vows  there  are  various  kinds  of  sacrifices 
which  are  not  included  in  the  Moslem  ritual. 

There  is  "the  sacrifice  between  the  feet."  This  is 
made  in  behalf  of  a  pilgrim  on  his  return  from  Jerusalem 
or  from  Mecca,  or  in  behalf  of  some  one  who  has  been 
long  away  from  home,  as  a  soldier,  or  a  prisoner.  The 
ceremony  consists  in  a  sheep  or  goat  being  slaughtered 
for  the  one  who  returns.  Just  before  he  enters  the  door 
of  the  house  he  stands  with  his  legs  spread  out  so  that 
there  is  room  for  the  victim  to  be  placed  between  them. 
It  is  then  thrown  on  its  left  side,  with  its  head  toward 
the  south,  or  Mecca,  if  he  is  a  Moslem,  and  toward  the 
east,  or  Jerusalem,  if  he  is  a  Christian.  Its  throat  is 
then  cut,  sometimes  just  before  the  threshold,  sometimes 
upon  it.^  Some  of  the  blood  is  placed  upon  his  fore- 
head, if  he  is  a  Christian  in  the  sign  of  a  cross.  He  then 
steps  over  the  victim  and  the  blood  into  the  house, 
though  it  is  not  considered  good  usage  to  step  over  the 
blood  among  strict  Moslems.  If  he  is  a  Christian,  he 
then  takes  the  bundle  of  clothes  which  he  is  to  wear  to 
the  church.  These  are  blessed  by  the  priest.  After  he 
returns  home  he  puts  them  on.  Sometimes  the  priest 
comes  to  the  house  and  blesses  them. 

There  are  also  sacrifices  for  houses,  which  we  shall 
discuss  in  another  chapter. 

Sacrifices  are  quite  commonly  offered  for  children, 
especially  if  there  is  fear  that  a  son  may  not  live.  In 
Nebk  one  victim  is  brought  for  a  girl  and  two  for  a  boy; 
in   other  parts  of   the  country,  and   perhaps   usually,  no 

•  Cf.  Trumbull,  The  Threshold  Covenant,  New  York,  1896, 
pp.  3.  4. 


1/8  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

sacrifices  are  brought  for  girls.  For  a  boy,  when  he  is 
seven  days  old,  they  offer  a  sacrifice  without  breaking  a 
bone,  because  they  fear  that  if  a  bone  of  the  sacrifice 
should  be  broken,  the  child's  bones  would  be  broken, 
too. 

It  is  also  customary  to  offer  sacrifices  in  connection 
with  the  circumcision  of  boys.  This  may  not  take  place 
until  they  are  five  or  six  years  of  age,  or  even  later,  when 
they  are  often  brought  to  such  shrines  as  Nebi  Musa  or 
Nebi  Rubin,  at  the  great  annual  festivals,  and  sacrifices 
of  sheep  are  offered  before  the  door  of  the  makam,  the 
blood  of  the  victim  being  placed  on  the  threshold. 

In  all  parts  of  Syria,  Palestine,  and  Arabia,  there  are 
sacrifices  for  the  dead.  The  evidence  of  this  is  derived 
from  many  personal  interviews,  as  well  as  from  the  testi- 
mony of  Doughty.  I  reproduce  some  of  the  testimonies 
received  on  my  travels.  The  following  is  from  the  minis- 
ter of  the  kursi:  "They  kill  animals  for  the  dead  in 
behalf  of  his  spirit.  They  call  them  fedou.  They  go 
before  him  as  light,  serve  him  in  the  next  life  as  he 
approaches  God.  They  become  a  keffareh  for  his  sins. 
Some  people  have  all  this  done  before  they  die,  in  order 
to  cover  their  sins." 

Ahmed  Ghazaleh,  a  peasant  at  Nebk,  said  when  ques- 
tioned with  respect  to  sacrifices  for  the  dead:  "When  a 
man  comes  to  die  he  appoints  some  one  as  executor  to 
sacrifice  some  animal.      It  is  preferable  for  a  man  to  offer 

the  sacrifice  during  his  life He  rides  the  animal 

across  the  narrow  way  on  the  day  of  judgment.  Because 
of  his  obedience  to  God  in  offering  the  sacrifice,  the 
victim  serves  him  in  the  day  of  judgment  as  Abraham 
was  saved  by  obedience  [in  offering  up  Ishmael]." 

The  minister  of  a  Moslem  shrine  in  Homs,  who 
became  very  friendly  when   he  was   told   that   I  was  a 


< 

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z 

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o 
a 


THE    INSTITUTION   OF   SACRIFICE  1 79 

teacher  of  the  Torah  and  a  friend  of  Abraham,  affirmed 
that,  "Only  the  Arabs  offer  sacrifice  for  the  dead." 
This  does  not  seem  to  be  correct,  as  it  is  spoken  of  as  a 
universal  custom.  Another  testifies:  "The  relatives  of 
the  dead  man  make  some  one  executor  who  is  to  see  to 
the  sacrifice.  He  must  not  partake  of  it,  but  it  must  be 
given  to  the  poor."  The  particular  time  of  such  sacri- 
fices undoubtedly  varies.  Among  a  tribe  of  Arabs  in 
northern  Syria  they  sacrifice  three  days  after  the  death 
a  goat  or  sheep,  which  must  be  a  perfect  animal  and  may 
be  male  or  female.  They  are  ashamed  not  to  sacrifice 
for  the  dead. 

Of  such  sacrifices  among  the  Arabs  Doughty  gives 
interesting  examples:  "There  is  a  sacrifice  for  the  dead, 
which  I  have  seen  continued  to  the  third  generation.  I 
have  seen  a  sheik  come  with  devout  remembrance,  to 
slaughter  his  sacrifice  and  to  pray  at  the  heap  where  his 
father  or  his  father's  father  lies  buried,  and  I  have  seen 
such  to  kiss  his  hand  in  passing  any  time  by  the  place 
where  the  sire  is  sleeping,  and  breathe  out,  with  almost 
womanly  tenderness,  words  of  blessing  and  prayer."  ^ 

Whether  there  are  sacrifices  to  the  dead  as  well  3.%  for 
the  dead  is  a  question  which  cannot  be  easily  determined, 
if  an  immediate  ancestor  is  intended.  The  sacrifices 
offered  to  the  saints  are,  of  course,  really  made  to  those 
who  were  once  mortals.  It  is  true  of  the  Nusairiyeh  that 
they  "sacrifice  not  to  God,  but  to  the  weli.  They  pray 
to  the  weli  who  did  good  deeds,  and  when  he  died  was 
saved  without  any  punishment." 

According  to  Doughty,  some  of  the  Arabs  among 
whom  he  traveled  sacrificed  to  the  angels.  They  cooked 
part  of  the  flesh,  which  they  distributed  among  their 
friends,  and   part  of   it  they  hung  upon   tlie  branches  of 

'  Travels  in  Arabia  Deserta,  Vol.  1.,  jip.  240,  241. 


l8o         PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

sacred    trees,   which    are   the    places  where   angels   are 
thought  to  reveal  themselves.* 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  no  part  of  the 
animal  is  consumed  upon  the  altar;  but  rather  it  is  eaten 
by  the  one  offering  and  his  friends,  or  is  given  to  the 
poor,  or  is  buried.  But  I  shall  reserve  the  discussion  of 
that  in  which  the  sacrifice  really  consists  until  a  later 
chapter. 

1  Id.,  p.  449. 


CHAPTER   XV 

THE   USE   OF   BLOOD 

In  the  investigation  regarding  the  primitive  religion 
of  the  Semites,  the  facts  with  respect  to  the  use  of  blood 
among  modern  Semites  have  proved  to  be  the  most  sur- 
prising of  all. 

On  my  way  from  Beirut  to  Jerusalem  in  the  summer 
of  1900,  I  fell  in  with  a  young  Englishwoman,  who, 
moved  by  love  of  adventure,  had  acquired  a  use  of  col- 
loquial Arabic,  and  had  made  a  journey  in  the  Druse 
Mountains. 

In  reply  to  my  inquiries  as  to  the  most  remarkable 
thing  she  had  seen  in  connection  with  the  customs  of  the 
people,  she  mentioned  that  she  had  been  present  at  a 
festival,  celebrated  at  a  shrine,  and  had  seen  the  blood 
of  the  victim  put  on  the  door-posts  and  lintel  of  the 
makam. 

On  reaching  Jerusalem  I  sought  information  in  regard 
to  this  custom  from  missionaries  who  had  been  longest 
in  the  country.  One  of  them,  Rev.  J.  E.  Hanauer,  of  the 
London  Society  for  Promoting  Christianity  Among  the 
Jews,'  had  heard  rumors  of  such  a  usage,  though  he 
had  never  seen  it.     Later  its  existence  was  questioned 

'  In  Jaffa,  where  Mr.  Hanauer  was  a  missionary  for  many  years, 
he  was  told  by  one  of  the  Baldensperger  brothers  that  the  people 
are  accustomed  to  sprinkle  blood  on  the  lintel  and  door-posts  of 
their  houses. 

Hanna  Demishky,  now  of  Kerak,  in  the  employ  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  who  was  stationed  in  Lydda  for  thirty-seven 
years,  has  seen  Moslems  in  villages  near  Jerusalem  kill  sheep  and 
sprinkle  their  blood  on  the  lintels  and  doorposts  of  their  houses  in 
connection  with  the  great  pilgrim  festival  {id  dahJiiych). 

181 


1 82  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

with  skeptical  sarcasm  by  a  famous  authority  on  the 
geography  of  the  country,  and  was  denied  by  learned 
Moslem  friends  of  Percy  D'Erf  Wheeler,  M.D.,  as  having 
any  connection  with  Moslem  makams.  It  became  per- 
fectly clear  that  it  is  never  safe  to  decide  a  priori  what 
any  custom  must  be,  because  we  know  what  it  should  be. 
The  scientific  method  of  investigation  always  asks: 
"What  are  the  facts?"  The  facts  with  respect  to  the  use 
of  blood  are  more  numerous  than  in  regard  to  any  other 
religious  usage  among  the  modern  Semites.  As  far  as 
possible,  I  shall  give  some  account  of  the  way  in  which 
they  came  into  view. 

A  few  days  later,  on  the  way  from  Beersheba'  to 
Gadis,'  I  came  to  Ruheibeh, thought  by  Professor  Palmer 
and  others  to  be  the  same  place  as  ancient  Rehoboth.^ 
There  we  were  made  most  welcome  at  the  tent  of  one  of 
the  Arabs.  Soon  a  company  of  about  fifteen  men  were 
gathered  in  a  circle  around  the  young  man  of  the  family, 
who  was  to  prepare  refreshment  for  us.  Yielding  to  our 
encouragement,  three  women,  one  with  flashing  black 
eyes  which  could  not  be  concealed  by  the  veil  made  of 
coins  hanging  down  over  her  cheeks,  joined  themselves 
to  our  company. 

Meanwhile  the  young  man  who  had  roasted  the  coffee 
over  the  fire,  began  with  a  rhythmic  measure  to  beat 
it  fine  in  a  mortar.      When  it    was  ready  he  brewed   it 

iThe  Arabs  evidently  connect  Bir  es-Seba  with  the  thought  of 
seven  wells.  On  my  first  visit  to  this  place,  in  the  summer  of  iSgg, 
June  1 1,  they  were  opening  a  fourth  well;  on  the  second  visit,  June 
21,  190Q,  there  were  five  wells,  and  the  Arabs  pointed  out  the  sites 
of 'two  others.     Cf.  p.  36;  for  details,  see  Appendix  C. 

2  Cf.  p.  34.  When  we  asked  the  Arabs  of  the  South  Country  for 
Ain  Kadis,  not  one  of  them  understood  us.  Various  travelers 
have  identified  Gadis  with  Kadesh  Barnea.  See  Trumbull,  Kadesh 
Barnea,  New  York,  1884.  Cf.  Williams,  The  Holy  City,  Vol.  I.,  pp. 
466,  467;  Palmer,  op.  cit. 

'Cf.  Palmer,  op.  cit.,  p.  236,  and  passim. 


THE    USE   OF   BLOOD  183 

with  care,  then  cleaned  the  cups,  and  filling  one, 
poured  it  into  the  middle  of  the  fire,  a  libation  to  Sheik 
Shadli.' 

After  the  coffee  was  served  in  the  minute  cups  of  the 
country,  and  he  had  struck  with  his  whip  at  the  belle  of 
the  harem,  as  she  had  become  immodest  in  speech,  he 
began  to  sharpen  his  crescent-shaped  knife.  A  young 
goat  was  then  brought  near  the  camp,  was  thrown  on  its 
left  side  with  its  head  toward  Mecca,  and  its  throat  was 
cut.  One  of  the  women  rushed  to  the  victim  before 
the  blood  had  ceased  gurgling,  and  caught  the  crimson 
flow  in  a  tannui-.'^  When  I  asked  her  what  the  blood 
was  for,  she  replied,  "For  a  blessing."  One  of  our 
muleteers  dipped  his  finger  into  the  blood  and  put  it 
on  one  of  the  tent  cords.  A  little  later  the  Arabs 
called  my  attention  to  a  light-colored  camel,  on  whose 
neck  they  had  made  a  stripe  of  blood,  about  two  and 
a  half  feet  long  and  about  three  inches  wide.  Here, 
then,  was  an  interesting  example  of  an  ancient  custom 
among  the  Arabs,  in  a  country  once  frequented  by  the 
patriarchs. 

On  the  next  journey,  which  was  to  Petra,^  further 
examples  were  observed.  In  addition,  the  following 
valuable  accounts  were  given  by  Mr.  Henry  C.  Harding, 
of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  then  of  Kerak,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Dead  Sea,  now  of  Gaza:  "There  is  an 
interesting  relic  of   pagan  times   at  Kerak.      When   the 

'  This  curious  legend  about  Shekh  Shadli,  or  Shazli,  as  the 
originator  of  coffee,  is  heard  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the 
other,  as  at  Kerak,  Nebk,  and  Hamath.  At  the  last  place  mentioned 
we  heard  that  when  a  pilgrim  returns,  the  coffee-maker  meets  him 
and  pours  the  whole  pot  between  his  feet  as  a  libation. 

-  A  taniiilr  is  a  convex  and  concave  piece  of  iron,  on  the  outer 
surface  of  whicii  tlic  thin  Arab  loaves  are  baked  by  the  nomads, 
who  have  no  oven,  when  they  do  not  bake  in  the  ashes. 

•July  11-13,  1900. 


1 84  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

people  go  into  the  country  to  cultivate  the  soil,  they  often 
live  in  caves  near  the  harvest-field.  Before  taking  up 
their  abode  in  a  cave  they  offer  a  sacrifice  to  the  spirit 
of  the  cave  ^  by  cutting  the  animal's  throat  at  the  entrance. 
They  use  some  form  of  invocation  when  they  do  so 
....  and  pour  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice  upon  the 
ground." 

"When  a  newly  married  couple  take  up  their  residence 
in  an  old  house,  or  any  one  makes  his  home  in  a  new 
one,  it  is  customary  to  take  a  goat  or  sheep  upon  the  flat 
roof,  and  cut  its  throat  so  that  the  blood  runs  down  over 
the  lintel."  When  Mr.  Harding  entered  a  new  house  the 
landlord  gave  him  a  goat  for  this  purpose.  The  people 
affirm  that  it  is  the  custom  of  their  forefathers,  both 
Moslems  and  Christians  observe  it. 

"When  the  foundations  of  the  new  government  school 
were  laid  at  Kerak,  along  with  other  religious  services, 
two  sheep  were  brought,  their  throats  were  cut,  and  the 
blood  ran  down  into  the  trench,  excavated  for  the  pur- 
pose." 

Instances  of  the  same  custom  in  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, on  laying  foundations  of  public  buildings,  or  the 
beginning  of  public  works,  are  too  numerous  to  give  in 
detail. 

The  following  incident  was  witnessed  by  Rev.  George 
E.  Post,  M.D.,  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College,  Beirut, 
When  the  ground  was  broken  for  the  railroad  from  Beirut 
to  Damascus,  ten  sheep  were  placed  in  a  row,  their 
throats  were  cut,  their  blood  flowed  down  upon  the 
ground,  and  the  flesh  was  given  to  the  poor. 

At  shrines  on  the  way  from  Kerak  to  Petra,  which  are 
called  mezars,  signifying  visiting  places,  there  is  a  cus- 

_  ■  Selim  Semain  of  Kerak  says  the  people  think  there  are  evil 
spirits  in  some  of  the  caves. 


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THE    USE    OF   BLOOD  1 85 

torn  which  undoubtedly  has  the  same  significance  as  the 
use  of  blood.  On  reaching  Jafar'  I  visited  the  tomb  of 
the  sheik.  There  was  Arab  butter  (se//in),  colored  with 
henna, ^  daubed  over  the  lintel  and  on  the  door-posts. 
When  I  asked  the  minister  of  the  shrine  what  it  was  for, 
he  said:  "It  is  for  a  blessing,"  thus  using  the  same 
expression  that  the  woman  at  Ruheibeh  employed  in 
respect  to  the  blood.  I  think  that,  as  wine  is  used  as  a 
sacramental  symbol  for  blood,  so  this  mixture  is  espe- 
cially acceptable  to  Moslems  in  this  part  of  the  country 
as  a  substitute  for  blood. 

Between  Et-Tafileh  ^  and  Shobek  we  visited  the 
weli  of  Hamed  el-Hudefi.  There  was  no  minister 
in  attendance,  but  many  beams  for  buildings  were 
piled  up  by  the  side  of  the  mezar.  Being  thus  under 
the  protection  of  the  weli,  there  was  no  fear  of  their 
being  stolen.  While  henna  and  semn  had  been  daubed 
over  the  lintel,  leaving  the  imprint  of  hands,  it  seemed 
as  if  a  sheep  or  goat  had  been  killed  on  the  flat  roof, 
so  that  the  blood  would  run  down  on  the  lintel.  I 
scraped  off  the  substance  and  submitted  it  to  a  surgeon 
in  Jerusalem,  who  declined  to  analyze  it  for  the  reason 
stated.* 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  inspect  the  tomb  of  Aaron, 
on  the  top  of  Mount  Hor.  On  account  of  the  fanaticism 
and  greed  of  the  Arabs  at  Petra,  such  a  visit  is  not  easily 

'According  to  Mr.  Harding,  his  tomb  is  honored  not  only  by 
Moslems  but  also  by  Christians.  It  is  supposed  that  among  many 
of  the  same  name  this  is  Jafar-ibn-Abu  Talib,  the  brother  of  All 
who  was  son-in-law  of  the  Prophet. 

*Semn  is  Arab  butter,  henna  is  somewhat  lighter  in  color 
than  blood,  and  the  mixture  is  thicker, 

*Et-Tafileh  is  tlie  ancient  Tophel  (Deut.  i.  i). 

*  Because,  as  we  have  seen,  Moslems  assured  Dr.  W^heeler  that 
such  a  use  of  blood  was  impossible. 


1 86  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

accomplished.'      Inside  the  shrine   I  saw  the  prints  of 
many  hands  in  semn  and  henna. 

My  next  journey  was  to  Palmyra.  While  I  did  not 
make  any  new  observations  of  blood-sprinkling,  I 
received  some  fresh  illustrations  through  interviews  and 
books.  Mr.  Richards,  the  British  consul  in  Damascus, 
who  had  spent  more  than  twenty  years  in  Oriental  coun- 
tries, including  three  years  at  Jiddah,  the  seaport  of 
Mecca,  said  that  on  entering  a  certain  Moslem  village 
an  address  of  welcome  was  given  by  the  representative 
of  the  village,  and  at  a  given  signal  a  sheep  was  brought 
forward  in  front  of  his  horse  and  its  throat  was  cut.^ 

My  last  tour  for  the  summer  of  1900  was  to  the  Druse 
Mountains.  This  is  a  section  of  country  not  easily  pene- 
trated by  travelers,  described  by  Rev.  J.  L.  Porter,  in 
his  Giant  Cities  of  Bashan,  in  terms  which  seem  to  be 
grossly  exaggerated.  Dr.  Merrill  has  given  a  sober 
account.'  We  were  received  with  such  hospitality  as 
to  be  at  times  almost  burdensome,  and  had  a  good  oppor- 
tunity to  observe  the  life  of  the  people,  as  we  were  wel- 
comed at  their  places  of  public  entertainment  in  a  way 
that  often  warmed  the  heart.* 

At  the  shrines  we  found  various  examples  of  the  use 

'  It  was  visited  by  Palmer,  op.  cit.,  pp.  364-366,  also  by  several 
recent  travelers. 

2  This  seems  to  be  a  common  custom.  Layard  speaks  of  it  as 
occurring  among  the  Yezidis:  "  Before  we  reached  Guzelder,  the 
procession  had  swollen  to  many  hundreds.  The  men  had  assem- 
bled at  some  distance  from  the  village,  the  women  and  children 
dressed  in  their  holiday  attire,  and  carrying  boughs  of  trees,  con- 
gregated on  the  housetops.  As  I  approached,  sheep  were  brought 
into  the  road  and  slain  before  my  horses'  feet,  and  ....  the  women 
and  men  joined  in  the  loud  and  piercing  'tahel.'  "  Discoveries  in 
the  Ruins  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  London,  1853,  p.  43.  Cf, 
Trumbull,  The  Threshold  Covenant,  New  York,  i8g5,  pp.  189,  190. 

'East  of  the  Jordan,  New  York,  188 1. 

*  Every  village  in  the  Druse  Mountains  has  a  place  of  enter- 
tainment for  strangers,  called  a  medayfeh. 


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THE    USE    OF   BLOOD  1 87 

of  blood.  At  Smed  is  the  Weli  of  St.  George,  an  old 
Greek  church  with  three  Greek  inscriptions  on  it.  The 
people  take  the  blood  of  the  sacrifices  and  put  it  over 
the  lintel;  on  the  door-posts  and  on  the  door  itself  one 
can  easily  trace  the  marks  of  bloody  hands. 

At  Ayun,  a  ruined  town  not  far  from  Salkhad,  is  a 
weli  called  Abu  Hur.  It  is  near  a  large  sacred  mulberry- 
tree,  consisting  of  five  trunks  which  grow  up  separately 
from  the  root.  Near  the  tree  is  an  old  oblong  building 
with  a  stone  door  after  the  ancient  custom  of  the  coun- 
try.' There  were  stains  on  the  door  where  blood  had 
run  down,  as  well  as  on  the  lintel.  At  one  end 
of  the  building  was  something  of  stone,  about  four 
feet  high,  which  looked  like  a  baptismal  font.  It  was 
covered  with  cloths.  Our  cameleer  removed  his  shoes 
on  entering  the  weli,  and  reverently  kissed  the  cloths  on 
the  stone. 

Tell  Sh'af,  near  Busan,  is  an  eminence  of  considerable 
height,  crowned  with  a  weli,  called  Nebi  Khuddr,  or  the 
Prophet  George.  The  building,  like  the  temples  of  the 
sun,^  and  so  many  ancient  buildings,  fronts  the  east. 
The  cenotaph  of  the  saint  is  at  the  western  end.  The 
original  door  on  the  north  side,  which  was  ornamented 
with  a  pretty  design,  has  been  taken  away.  On  the  front 
step,  leading  to  the  front  door,  and  on  the  front  door- 
step was  abundance  of  blood.     The  victim  had  evidently 

'Ancient  roofs,  doors,  and  windows  were  once  all  of  stone, 
on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  wood;  now  wooden  boxes  in  which 
petroleum  is  shipped  from  Russia  are  used  in  the  construction 
of  doors. 

2  Rev.  Franklin  E.  Hoskins,  of  Beirut,  has  made  some  very 
interesting  studies  with  respect  to  ancient  temples  of  the  sun 
and  has  found  at  least  twenty-five  in  Syria.  He  says  they  are  built 
in  a  notch  of  the  mountain  (Lebanon  and  Anti-Lebanon)  where  the 
sunrise  is  finest.  They  face  toward  the  east;  the  altar  is  by  the 
west  wall. 


1 88  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

been  killed  not  many  days  before.     There  were  some 
faint  traces  of  blood  on  the  door-posts. 

In  Busan  was  a  remarkable  use  of  blood.  At  the 
entrance  to  a  court  was  a  double  door.  On  one  leaf  of 
it  were  stripes  of  blood,  crossing  another  /     /     / 

stripe   at  a  slant,  as  indicated    by   the        III 
accompanying    figure.      We    could    get    no    explanation 
of  it  except  that  the  people  had  been  killing  a  sheep 
some  days  before  and  had  put  some  of  the  blood  on  the 
door. 

In  the  same  village  is  a  makam  known  as  Nebi  Eyyub, 
a  name  which  occurs  often  as  the  designation  of  a  shrine. 
It  is  a  little  building  with  a  dome,  which  was  plentifully 
smeared  with  blood;  there  was  also  blood  on  the 
threshold,  the  door-posts,  and  the  lintel.  In  front  of  it 
were  three  pillars  about  three  and  a  half  feet  high ;  on 
the  top  of  one  of  them  was  a  peculiar-shaped  stone,  of 
which  I  saw  many  examples  in  the  country.'  The 
broken  pillars  were  also  smeared  with  blood. 

Although  examples  of  the  use  of  blood  in  worship  are 
so  numerous,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  preceding  account, 
as  well  as  from  that  which  is  to  follow,  some  of  those 
who  are  most  familiar  with  the  customs  of  the  country 
have  not  had  occasion  to  make  any  investigations  in 
respect  to  this  important  custom.  Rev.  Henry  H. 
Jessup,  D.D.,  has  been  a  distinguished  missionary  in 
Syria  since  1856;  he  is  most  familiar  with  the  language 
and  institutions  of  the  people,  and  is  a  keen  observer, 

iThe  stone  may  perhaps  be  connected  with  ancient  phallic 
worship.  On  the  flat  roof  of  one  of  the  makams  I  saw  a  row  of 
such  stones  near  the  outer  wall.  At  a  shrine  on  a  high  place  in 
northern  Syria  under  the  open  heavens  and  a  sacred  grove  I  saw, 
as  I  have  already  remarked,  a  shrine  in  the  form  of  a  long  grave, 
surrounded  by  a  wall  about  three  feet  high,  with  the  usual  entrance 
at  one  end,  and  an  immense  phallus  laid  across  the  two  walls  so 
that  no  one  could  ride  in. 


THE    USE   OF   BLOOD  189 

but  aside  from  the  slaughter  of  sheep  when  ground  was 
broken  for  the  railroad  at  Beirut,  when  foundations  were 
laid  for  the  clock-tower  in  the  same  city,  and  when  sheep 
were  sacrificed  by  the  governor  of  the  city  after  the  blow- 
ing up  of  a  torpedo-boat,  which  was  used  for  an  excur- 
sion, he  could  speak  of  only  one  instance  of  blood- 
sprinkling  at  a  shrine.  This  was  at  Tell  Abu  en-Neda, 
a  volcanic  hill  from  which  there  is  a  charming  view,  and 
on  which  there  is  a  makam,  near  Kunetra.  Here,  in  1893, 
he  and  Rev.  W.  K.  Eddy,  of  Sidon,  saw  blood  on  the 
lintel,  the  door-posts,  and  the  threshold,  which  had  been 
put  there  by  the  Bedouin.  An  old  man,  Abu  Ibrahim, 
an  elder  of  the  Protestant  church  at  Ain  Kanya,  near 
Bainiyas,  thought  the  blood  was  to  seal  a  vow.  The 
feet  of  the  animals  had  been  cut  off  and  had  been  stuck 
into  the  interstices  of  the  wall. 

Similar  uses  of  blood  are  doubtless  found  among  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  of  almost  every  country.  Mr, 
Theophilus  Waldmeier,  for  ten  years  missionary  in  Abys- 
sinia, and  for  thirty  years  missionary  in  Syria,  now 
superintendent  of  the  first  insane  asylum  in  Syria  at 
Asfuriyeh,'  said  that  he  had  seen  the  blood  of  black 
fowls  on  the  lintels  and  thresholds  of  the  houses  of 
Abyssinians. 

It  was  in  connection  with  this  second  journey  that 
interesting  parallels  were  found  in  the  volumes  of  Lyde* 
and  Doughty.*  The  former,  in  speaking  of  the  feast  of 
St.  Barbara,  mentions  a  significant  rite.  "Before  sunset 
they  prepare  wheat  by  beating  it  in  a  mortar  to  remove 
the  husk.      They  then  kill  a  fowl,  which  they  strike  on 

'Previous  to  the  opening  of  this  asylum  the  insane  were  con- 
fined in  caves,  bound  in  fetters,  in  the  hope  that  the  well  to  whom 
the  cave  belonged  would  grant  them  restoration. 

2  The  Asian  Mystery,  London,  i860. 

•Travels  in  Arabia  Deserta,  Vols.  I.  and  IL,  Cambridge,  1888. 


IQO  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

the  door,  and  the  wall  on  each  side  of  it,  and  sometimes 
on  the  lintel  and  side  posts."  ^ 

The  examples  of  Doughty  will  be  found  illuminating 
for  our  investigation.  They  serve  to  illustrate  the  close- 
ness of  his  observations,  as  well  as  the  peculiarity  of  his 
English,  which  sometimes  needs  retranslation  to  make 
his  meaning  apparent. 

The  first  quotation  is  used  to  show  how  blood-sprink- 
ling is  supposed  to  propitiate  the  jinn:  "The  fatness  of 
the  Hejr  loam  is  well  known  in  the  country;  many  have 
sown  here,  and  awhile,  the  Arabs  told  me,  they  fared 
well,  but  always  in  the  reaping-time  there  has  died  some 
one  of  them.  A  hidden  mischief  they  think  to  be  in  all 
this  soil  once  subverted  by  divine  judgments,  that  it  may 
never  be  tilled  again  or  inhabited.  Malignity  of  the  soil 
is  otherwise  ascribed  by  the  people  of  Arabia,  to  the 
ground  demons,  jan,  ahl  el-ard  or  earth-folk.  Therefore 
husbandmen  in  these  parts  use  to  sprinkle  new  break 
land  with  the  blood  of  a  peace-offering:  the  like,  when 
they  build,  they  sprinkle  upon  the  stones,  lest  by  any  evil 
accident  the  workmen's  lives  should  be  endangered."^ 

Another  account  of  an  Arab  named  Mishwat  shows 
that  the  same  custom  that  was  noticed  in  the  South  Coun- 
try is  also  to  be  found  in  Arabia:  "At  evening,  he  of- 
fered a  young  sheep  for  the  health  of  his  camels, — tnesquin! 
unwitting  of  the  Will  above  and  the  event  determined 
against  him!  A  month  later  they  were  in  the  power  of  the 
enemy. ^  The  ewe  he  had  cast  silent  and  struggling  to 
[the]  ground  (the  head  of  every  sacrifice  is  turned 
towards  Mecca);  then  Mishwat,  kneeling  upon  it,  in  the 
name  of  God,  drew  his  sword  across  the  throat.     Some 

'Op.  cit.,  p.  176. 

2 Op.  cit.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  136. 

*He  refers  here  to  a  marauding  band  of  Bedouin. 


THE    USE    OF    BLOOD  I9I 

of  the  spouting  blood  he  caught  in  the  bowl,  and  with 
this  he  passed  devoutly  through  the  troop;  and  putting  in 
with  his  fingers  he  bedaubed  with  a  blood-streak  the  neck 
and  flank  of  every  one  of  his  couching  great  cattle."  ' 

In  another  passage  Doughty  speaks  of  the  custom  of 
sprinkling  new  buildings  with  blood,  which  differs  a  little 
in  detail  from  that  at  Kerak,  although  the  reason  for  it 
is  very  likely  the  same:  "I  asked  wherefore  the  corner 
of  his  new  building  had  been  sprinkled  with  gore?  They 
wondered  to  hear  me  question  them  thus  (and  felt  in 
their  hearts  that  I  was  an  alien)!  They  thought  I  should 
have  known  that  it  was  the  blood  of  a  goat  which  had 
been  sacrificed  [to  the  jan]  for  the  safety  of  the  workmen, 
lest,  as  they  said,  any  one  should  be  wounded."  ^ 

Convincing  as  the  examples  cited  are  with  reference 
to  the  use  of  blood  and  blood-sprinkling,  the  facts 
gathered  during  the  summer  of  1901  are  numerous  and 
decisive.  The  following  incident  is  given  on  the  author- 
ity of  Mr.  Faris  el-Khuri,  a  graduate  of  the  Syrian  Protes- 
tant College:  "In  the  neighborhood  of  Nablus  it  is 
customary,  when  a  reconciliation  has  been  made  between 
the  murderer  and  the  avenger  of  blood,  for  the  murderer 
to  kill  a  goat  or  a  sheep.  He  then  kneels  before  the 
avenger  with  a  red  handkerchief  tied  about  his  neck. 
Some  of  the  blood  of  the  animal  slain  is  put  on  the  palms 
of  his  hands.  The  avenger  draws  his  sword  and  inti- 
mates that  he  could  take  his  life  from  him,  but  that  he 
gives  it  back  to  him." 

The  use  of  blood  at  Moslem  shrines  has  already  been 
alluded  to.  The  following  instance  was  given  by  an  eye- 
witness, Selim,  a  teacher  of  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Mission 

'Op.  cit.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  499.  "Couching  great  cattle"  are,  of 
course,  camels. 

-Op.  cit.,  \'ol.  II.,  p.  100. 


192  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

at  Nebk:  "There  was  an  Arab  who  had  two  sons  who 
were  to  be  circumcised  at  a  Moslem  shrine  at  Der  Atiyeh. 
As  preparatory  to  the  rite,  he  begged  from  various  shep- 
herds a  flock  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  sheep  and 
goats.  When  all  was  ready,  he  invited  the  villagers  of 
Der  Atiyeh,  Moslems  and  Christians,  to  the  sacrifice, 
which  took  place  in  the  morning.  A  butcher  uttered  the 
customary  formula,  "In  the  name  of  God";  each  animal 
was  placed  between  the  legs  of  the  boys  who  were  to  be 
circumcised,  the  throat  of  each  was  cut,  and  its  blood 
was  sprinkled  on  the  door-posts  and  on  the  lintel.  Later 
the  younger  boy  fell  ill,  and  in  about  three  hours  died. 
Then  his  elder  brother  also  became  ill,  hence  they  con- 
cluded that  the  saint  was  angry  because  blood  had  been 
sprinkled  on  his  shrine,  so  they  tried  in  every  way  to 
efface  the  blood.  As  the  elder  boy  recovered,  they  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  saint  had  been  displeased 
because  of  this  use  of  blood.  The  animals  slain  were 
cooked  with  wheat  and  Arab  butter,  and  were  eaten  by 
those  present.  A  Derwish  from  the  same  village  con- 
firmed the  story,  and  as  an  orthodox  Moslem,  said:  "We 
do  not  think  well  of  such  a  use  of  blood." 

A  few  hours  northwest  of  Hamath  is  a  shrine  used  ex- 
clusively by  Moslems,  known  as  Abu  Obeida,  one  of  the 
companions  of  the  Prophet  Mohammed,  and  a  famous 
general.'  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  visit  this  makam. 
There  is  a  small  building,  with  a  court  in  front  of  it,  and 
graves  behind  it.  Here  were  blood  marks,  such  as  I  had 
never  seen  or  heard  of  before,  in  the  shape  of  a  capital 
T,  or  possibly  designed  to  represent  a  cross.  These 
marks  were  visible  on  the  outer  door  of  the  court.  In 
front  of  it  the  place   could   clearly  be   seen  where   the 

^  Muir,  Annals  of  the  Early  Caliphate,  London,  1883,  p.  3,  and 
passim. 


HL(K)I)  MARKS  OF  ARABS  ON  THE  MOSLEM   SHRINE  OF 
ABU   OBEU^A. 


THE    USE    OF    BLOOD  I93 

animal  was  slaughtered,  and  at  a  little  distance  from 
the  steps  leading  to  the  entrance  was  a  small  hole  in  the 
ground,  into  which  they  had  evidently  attempted  to  pour 
the  blood  they  had  not  used.  On  the  door  of  the  shrine 
itself  was  a  large  T,  also  on  the  corners  of  the  lintel,  as 

in  the  accompanying  diagram,  and  -_  ^ >-.^.^^^ 

underneath  it.  There  were  twelve  I.  v-— J— — ^— ^  .1 
blood  marks  of  the  same  character  on  the  inside  walls 
and  two  in  the  prayer  niche,  as  may  be  seen  from  the 
photograph.  The  tomb  is  railed  off  from  the  rest  of  the 
makam,  but  over  it  is  an  inscription  in  Arabic,  of  which 
the  following  is  a  translation:  "This  is  the  makam,  of 
the  honorable  Abu  Obeida  Ibn  Gerar,  may  God  have 
mercy  upon  him." 

These  examples  must  suffice  to  show  how  general  is 
the  use  of  blood,  or  a  substitute  for  it,  at  shrines.  Other 
uses  of  it  and  expressions  with  respect  to  it  will  be  con- 
sidered in  the  discussion  as  to  the  significance  of  sacrifice 
in  a  subsequent  chapter. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

REDEMPTION  AND  THE   "BURSTING   FORTH  OF 

BLOOD" 

Hughes,  in  his  Dictionary  of  Islam,  affirms:  "Muham- 
medanism,  true  to  its  anti-Christian  character,  ignores 
the  doctrine  that  'without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  is 
no  remission'    (Lev.  xvii.  ii;  Heb.  ix.  22)."^ 

It  will  be  interesting  to  test  this  statement  by  examin- 
ing the  terms  used  with  respect  to  sacrifice  among  the 
people,  for  the  traditional  saying  of  Mohammed,  as 
reported  by  Ayeshah,  and  the  usage  current  among  many 
Moslems  to-day,  represents  a  different  spirit  from  that 
which  is  assumed  by  Hughes,  and  one  which  is  charac- 
teristic of  primitive  beliefs  among  the  Semites. 

Ayeshah  reported  the  prophet  as  saying:  "Man  hath 
not  done  anything,  on  the  day  of  sacrifice,  more  pleasing 
to  God  than  spilling  blood:  I  mean  sacrifice:  for  verily 
the  animal  sacrificed  will  come,  on  the  day  of  resurrec- 
tion, with  its  horns,  its  hair,  its  hoofs,  and  will  make  the 
scales  of  his  actions  heavy:  and  verily  its  blood  reacheth 
the  acceptance  of  God,  before  it  falleth  upon  the  ground: 
therefore  be  joyful  in  it."  ^ 

Another  statement  of  Hughes,  which  we  shall  put  to 
the  test  with  reference  to  the  usage  of  the  people  at  the 
present  day,  is:  "The  doctrine  of  expiation  or  atonement 

'A  Dictionary  of  Islam,  London,  1896,  p.  554. 

2  Mischcat-ul-Masabih,  Calcutta,  1809,  Vol.  I.,  p.  321. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  Hughes  makes  use  of  this  and 
other  passages,  which  were  translated  by  Capt.  A.  N.  Matthews 
without  giving  any  credit  to  the  source  from  which  he  derived 
the  translation. 

194 


REDEMPTION  I95 

for  neglected  duties,  sins  of  omission  and  commission,  is 
distinguished  in  the  Muslim  religion  from  the  doctrine  of 
sacrifice;  sacrifices  being  strictly  confined  to  the  Idu 
'l-Azha,  or  Feast  of  Sacrifice  in  the  month  of  pilgrim- 
age.'" 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  quotations  which  follow  that 
Hughes  is  in  a  serious  error  with  regard  to  the  usage  of 
the  Moslems.  This  will  be  evident  from  considering  a 
class  of  sacrifices  called  fedoit.  But  before  examining 
them  in  detail,  we  will  cite  the  definitions  of  the  term 
given  by  Lane,  who  defines  fada  as  follows:  "He  gave 
his  ransom;  he  gave  a  thing  ....  or  a  captive  for  him 
and  so  liberated  him;  that  is,  he  ransomed  him  .... 
from  captivity  ....  or  he  loosed  him,  or  set  him  free 
and  took  his  ransom:  ox  mufdddtdn^  which  signifies  the 
giving  a  man  and  taking  a  man  in  exchange;  diW^  fidadiln 
the  purchasing  him  from  captivity  or  the  like;  or  preserv- 
ing a  man  from  misfortune  by  what  one  gives  by  way  of 
compensation  for  him:  as  ....  I  purchased;  that  is, 
ransomed  him  with  my  property,  and  with  myself 
{benefsi)r 

Lane  renders  the  Koran  xxxvii.  107:  "And  we  made 
an  animal  prepared  for  sacrifice  to  be  a  ransom  for  him 
and  freed  him  from  slaughter."  ^ 

We  pass  now  to  the  definition  of  fedou^  given  by 
Derwish  Hatib,  of  Der  Atiyeh,  in  the  Syrian  Desert, 
who  is  a  lecturer,  and  leads  the  service  in  the  mosque  of 
that  village:  '' Fedou  means  that  it  redeems  the  other,  in 
place  of  the  other,  substitute  for  the  other.  Something 
is  going  to  happen  to  a  man,  and  the  sacrifice  is  a  substi- 
tute for  him.      It  prevents  disease,  sufferings,  robbery, 

'Op.  cit.,  p.  113. 

^Lane,  An  Arabic-English  Lexicon,  London,  1877,  Book  I. 
Part  VI.,  sub  voce. 


196  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

and  enmity Repent  of  your  sins  and  hope  that 

God  may  cover  your  sins.      Both  repentance  and  the  fedou 
cover.      The  essential  matter  is  the  heart."  ' 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  interviews  that  I  had  with 
any  of  the  Syrians,  was  with  the  minister  of  the  "Chair" 
on  the  mountain-side  of  Zebedani,  who  surprised  me  by 
the  statements  which  he  made  with  respect  to  sacrifice. 
He  said:  "They  go  through  the  opening  sura  of  the 
Koran,  address  the  spirits  {el-Aktab),  and  say,  'this  is 
from  thee  and  unto  thee  (God)  and,  O  God,  receive  it 
from  such  an  one,  the  son  of  such  a  mother,  as  a  redemp- 
tion {fedou)  in  behalf  of  him.'  This  sacrifice  is  a  sacrifice 
of  thanksgiving  looking  backward."  ^  Fedou  is  used  for 
houses,  for  a  child,  at  marriage,  for  the  sick,  and  for  the 
dead. 

"When  a  man  finishes  a  house,  he  makes  a  sacrifice 
on  the  doorstep.  It  is  redemption  for  the  building. 
Every  house  must  have  its  death,  a  man,  woman,  child, 
or  animal.  God  has  appointed  2i  fedou  for  every  building 
through  sacrifice.  If  God  has  accepted  the  sacrifice  he 
has  redeemed  the  house."  ^ 

As  was  stated  in  the  sixth  chapter,  the  servant  of  the 
"Chair,"  who  is  an  orthodox  Moslem,  said,  in  comment- 
ing upon  this  usage,  which  is  contrary  to  the  fatalism  of 
Islam,  "This  is  according  to  the  simplicity  of  our  minds. 
Of  course  every  man  dies  when  his  time  comes."  * 

A  simple  Moslem  at  Nebk  in  the  Syrian  Desert,  said: 
"The  fedou  is  commonly  for  the  future  to  ward  off  evil. 
When  they  lay  the  foundation  of  a  house,  they  slaughter 

'Journal  XI. 

2  Journal  X. 

*  Ibid.  The  primitive  institution  of  sacrifice  for  houses  is  found 
among  the  ancient  Babylonians.  Cf.  Zimmern,  Beitrage  zur  Kennt- 
niss  der  Babylonischen  Religion,  Leipzig,  1901,  pp.92,  147. 

*See  p.  65. 


REDEMPTION  197 

with  the  idea  that  {Khuddr)  St.  George,  will  preserve  the 
workmen.  Every  house  must  be  redeemed.  If  not 
redeemed  by  the  sacrifice  of  some  animal,  it  must  be 
redeemed  by  a  human  life."  ' 

The  next  quotation  is  made  from  a  personal  interview 
with  Joseph  Atiyeh,  a  Protestant  pastor,  most  learned 
in  Arabic  literature,  some  of  whose  treatises  have  been 
translated  by  Sir  William  Muir:  "He  has  known  a  custom 
of  beginning  an  important  building  by  placing  the  blood 
of  a  victim  in  the  foundation.  At  Tripoli,  when  they 
had  excavated  for  the  foundations  of  a  government  build- 
ing, they  killed  animals  and  poured  the  blood  into  the 
excavation.  In  Homs,  when  the  carriage-road  was  begun, 
the  officials  took  pickaxes,  dug  up  the  soil,  killed  ani- 
mals, read  the  first  sura  of  the  Koran,  and  shed  blood  on 
the  place.  It  is  actually  a  proverb  among  the  people, 
who  are  about  to  construct  a  house,  'it  will  not  do  to 
begin  this  building  without  shedding  blood.'  He  does 
not  know  of  any  significance  except  that  it  is  pleasing  to 
God,  and  insures  a  blessing."  ^ 

As  we  have  already  seen,  there  are  very  many  instances 
of  the  same  custom  in  the  opening  of  railroads,  and  the 
construction  of  government  buildings. 

It  was  the  testimony  of  an  orthodox  Moslem,  who  was 
servant  of  a  shrine  at  Homs,  that  he  was  familiar  with  a 
fedou.  "In  moving  from  house  to  house,  or  in  occupying 
a  new  building;  the  first  night  he  sleeps  in  the  house  he 
kills  the  fedou  ....   the  object  is  the  bursting  forth  of 

blood  unto  the  face  of  God It  is  for  himself  and 

family,    a    redemption.      It    keeps    off    disease    and    the 
jinn."=' 

We  were  told  by  members  of  the  Protestant  congrega- 
tion in  Hamath  that  "when  there  was  cholera  in  Hamath, 
'  Journal  X.  2  journal  XI.  "Ibid. 


198  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

in  the  year  1875,  the  Christians  sent  to  the  slaughter- 
house, procured  blood,  and  placed  it  in  the  sign  of  the 
cross  on  the  door  of  every  room  in  the  house.  They  also 
use  red  paint  for  the  same  purpose  whenever  any  serious 
calamity  is  feared  in  the  house."  ^ 

Another  curious  custom  which  was  mentioned  as  occur- 
ring in  the  same  place  is  the  following:  "The  largest 
water-wheel  in  Hamath,  which  is  used  for  irrigating  pur- 
poses, and  which  belongs  to  a  system  which  especially 
impresses  and  interests  every  traveler  who  penetrates  to 
this  antique  city,  has  to  be  mended  every  year.  When 
they  finish  repairing  it,  before  they  set  it  going  again, 
they  slaughter  a  ram  to  the  Afrit  who  is  supposed  to 
inhabit  the  sluice  through  which  the  wheel  moves,  in 
order  to  propitiate  him,  otherwise  some  one  is  sure  to  be 
killed  by  the  wheel  in  the  sluice-way.  No  prayer  is 
offered,  but  later  there  is  a  feast,  as  in  connection  with 
every  other  sacrifice."  ^ 

The  Bedouin  are  in  the  habit  of  visiting  hot  springs 
in  various  parts  of  Syria  and  Palestine  at  certain  seasons 
of  the  year,  as  a  remedy  for  rheumatism.  They  believe 
that  at  Zerka  Main  there  is  a  jinn,  who  is  also  called  a 
well,  who  lives  below  the  ground  and  keeps  the  fire 
going,  which  heats  the  water.  They  are  so  much  afraid 
the  fire  will  go  out  that  they  are  in  the  habit  of  killing 
animals  in  sacrifice  to  the  jinn.'  Dr.  F.  Johnson,  of 
Kerak,  says  that  they  kill  the  animals  so  that  the  blood 
runs  down  into  the  water.* 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  incidents  of  which  I  have 
heard  occurred    at  Nebk,  where  Rev.  J.  Stewart  Craw- 

1  Ibid. 

2  Ibid. 

3  Journal  VIII.,  Kerak,  summer  of  1900.   Mr.  W.  G.  Harding. 
^Journal  XIII.,  Brummana. 


-    J 
<      . 


-     > 


< 


REDEMPTION  I99 

ford  resides.  All  the  circumstances  came  under  his 
observation.  The  town,  like  five  others  in  the  Syrian 
Desert,  where  water  is  usually  found  at  a  depth  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet,  derives  its  water  supply  from  a 
series  of  wells  connected  with  one  another.  This  method 
has  been  in  vogue  in  the  Syrian  Desert  as  well  as  in  Damas- 
cus and  Palmyra  for  centuries,  if  not  for  millenniums,  and 
is  as  follows:  The  wells  are  situated  on  an  incline.  The 
first  well,  which  is  sunk  at  the  highest  point,  gathers  water 
from  all  the  ground  surrounding  it.  At  a  distance  of 
perhaps  twelve  feet  below,  another  well  is  excavated 
which  gathers  its  supply  of  water.  This  lower  well  is 
connected  with  the  first  and  a  third  with  the  second.  In 
this  way  a  series  of  wells  is  excavated  consisting  of  fifty 
or  one  hundred.  As  the  water  descends  from  the  first 
well  to  the  hundredth,  its  volume  naturally  increases 
until  it  comes  out  in  a  large  stream  at  the  end,  sufficient 
to  supply  a  town  of  five  or  six  thousand  people  with  water 
for  all  purposes  including  irrigation.'  After  a  long  resi- 
dence Mr.  Crawford  discovered,  in  the  spring  of  1901, 
that  the  stream  of  water  was  under  the  protection  of  a 
saint  (weli).  Whether  the  saint  was  considered  as 
equivalent  to  a  water  spirit  cannot  easily  be  determined; 
however,  his  shrine,  which  consists  of  a  small  building 
with  a  cupola,  is  near  the  mouth  of  the  stream  and  has 
sacred  trees  in  connection  with  it. 

At  the  time  mentioned  there  came  a  succession  of 
three  floods,  owing  to  excessive  rains  which  washed  away 
the  series  of  wells,  which  had  been  repaired  after  each 
catastrophe.  The  inhabitants  of  Nebk,  reasoning  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  the  country,  that  if  there  is  misfortune 
there  must  have  been  some  sin,  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  saint  had  been  offended.      They  at  once  began 

'Journal  I.,  1898,  X.,  igoi,  Syrian  Desert. 


200  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

to  inquire  what  was  the  reason  of  this  offense.  They 
discovered  that  the  sacrifices  which  had  been  offered  to 
the  saint  at  a  festival  each  year  had  been  intermitted, 
that  people  had  been  accustomed  to  perform  their  ablu- 
tions in  that  part  of  the  stream  which  was  inside  of  the 
courtyard  of  the  makam,  thus  defiling  it,  and  that  a 
dead  body  had  been  carried  across  the  stream/  All  this 
had  angered  the  saint.  The  village  at  once  arranged  to 
propitiate  the  saint  by  offering  sacrifices.  A  certain 
number  of  sheep,  perhaps  ten,  were  stationed  over  the 
stream,  and  their  throats  were  cut  so  that  the  blood  would 
run  into  the  water.  In  this  way  the  saint's  anger  was 
removed.^ 

A  similar  custom  obtains  with  reference  to  children, 
either  for  fear  that  some  misfortune  will  befall  them,  and 
as  a  protection,  or  because  they  have  fallen  ill,  and  that 
the  father  or  mother  may  secure  the  favor  of  some  par- 
ticular saint.  The  examples  which  follow  abundantly 
illustrate  this  usage.  The  servant  of  the  "Chair"  at 
Zebedani  related  the  following:  "The  mother  of  a  boy, 
when  she  slaughters  a  sacrifice  vowed  in  his  behalf,  takes 
some  of  the  blood  and  puts  it  on  his  skin.  They  call  the 
sacrifice  fedou.  Taking  the  blood  from  the  place  where 
the  sacrifice  is  slaughtered  is  equivalent  to  taking  the 
blessing  of  the  place  and  putting  it  on  the  child.  People 
who  are  particular  about  observing  all  the  requirements 
of  the  ritual  cover  up  the  blood."  ^ 

A  man  who  has  not  had  a  child  promises  a  fedou  that 
he  may  receive  the  gift  of  one  from  a  certain  saint.     If 

'  The  contiguity  of  a  corpse  to  water  is  regarded  as  defiling 
it.  Abdu  Khahil,  Syrian  Protestant  teacher  at  Damascus  told 
me  that,  "  if  a  corpse  passes  by  a  house,  the  common  people 
pour  the  water  out  from  the  jars."    Journal  XIII.,  Bludan. 

2  Journal  X.,  Damascus  and  Nebk. 

*Ibid.,  Zebedani. 


REDEMPTION  201 

it  should  be  born,  when  it  is  several  days  old,  they  put 
the  blood  of  the  sacrifice  offered  in  payment  of  the  vow 
on  its  forehead.' 

One  of  the  most  interesting  men  that  we  met  in  our 
travels  was  Surur,  of  Bagdad,  who  had  once  been  a 
slave,  but  was  very  intelligent.  He  gave  us  many 
remarkable  incidents  which  I  shall  relate  in  another 
connection.  He  said:  "A  man  oftentimes  vows,  that  if 
he  has  a  son  he  will  give  gold  ear-rings  or  a  necklace  to 
the  mosque.  A  man  may  vow  his  son  to  the  mosque, 
in  which  case  he  has  to  redeem  him  with  money.  They 
call  the  redemption_/f^^^. "  ^ 

I  had  the  great  advantage  of  visiting  an  emir  of  the 
Mawali  Arabs,  near  Mehardeh,  who  is  hired  by  the 
people  to  protect  the  town  from  the  incursions  of  sur- 
rounding tribes  of  Arabs.  The  emir  was  greatly  aston- 
ished at  the  questions  that  I  asked  him  while  reclining 
under  his  tent.  He  asked  what  was  the  object,  and 
said,  "I  have  never  had  any  such  questions  asked  me 
before."  He  was  assured  by  the  Protestant  pastor  who 
accompanied  us,  who  was  a  great  friend  of  his,  that  he 
had  nothing  to  fear.  It  is  a  curious  thing  that  the  Arabs 
are  afraid  that  Americans  and  Europeans  will  in  some 
way  exercise  the  "black  art"  upon  them. 

Speaking  of  some  of  the  ceremonies  in  connection 
with  the  birth  of  a  child,  he  related  the  following:  "I 
give  you  the  good  news  that  a  son  has  been  born  to  you. 
....  The  child  must  be  taken  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the 
shrine  to  which  the  sheik  of  the  tribe  belongs.  The 
minister  of  the  shrine  sacrifices  for  them  near  the  thresh- 
old. The  child  is  anointed  on  his  forehead,  or  on  his 
nose,  with  a  mark  of  the  blood  of  the  victim.  They 
afterwards  cook  the  meat  and   have  a  feast.      The  rela- 

»  Journal  XL,  Nebk.  ^  journal  XII.,  Hamath. 


202  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

tives  and  all  who  are  present  partake.  The  important 
thing  is  that  the  child  should  be  present.  If  the  shrine 
is  too  far  away,  they  can  sacrifice  at  their  tents. 
The  blood  is  important.  They  slaughter  at  any  point  of 
the  tent,  but  facing  toward  the  south.  Anywhere  to  the 
front  of  the  tent.  The  east  is  always  considered  the 
front.  From  the  day  God  created  the  Arabs,  the  east 
has  been  the  front  ot  the  tent."  ' 

The  presentation  of  an  Arab  boy  at  the  shrine  of  the 
tribal  saint  reminds  us  of  the  custom  which  we  find 
among  the  Hebrews,  illustrated  in  the  presentation  of 
Samuel  at  the  house  of  the  Lord  in  Shiloh,^  and  of  the 
child  Jesus  in  the  temple^  at  Jerusalem. 

Another  notable  interview  which  we  had  was  with  one 
of  the  Ismailiyeh  in  northern  Syria.  He  belonged  to  the 
initiated  class,  so  that  while  he  had  the  assurance  of 
bakshish,  or  a  gift,  he  submitted  to  the  interview  with  no 
little  fear,  because,  if  his  coreligionists  had  been  aware 
of  it,  the  consequences  might  have  been  serious.  He 
said  during  the  interview,  "I  do  not  feel  happy." 
Speaking  of  the  customs  among  the  Ismailiyeh  when 
sacrificing  for  children,  he  affirmed:  "When  they  make 
a  sacrifice  for  a  child  they  slaughter  the  victim  in  the 
courtyard  where  he  lives,  and  put  a  few  drops  of  blood 
on  his  forehead  and  on  his  nose,  to  indicate  that  the  sacri- 
fice is  in  his  behalf.  The  breaking  forth  of  blood  is 
fedou.  It  redeems  the  child.  They  vow  to  the  saint 
that  blood  shall  flow  for  the  child  if  he  redeems  it."  * 

The  sacrifice  offered  for  a  son  is  usually  a  goat  or  a 
sheep.  It  becomes  necessary  that  there  should  be  pro- 
vision within  the  means  of  the  poor.  In  one  of  the 
villages  of  the  Syrian  Desert,  it  is  customary  "when  a 

'Journal  XL,  Mehardeh.  ^  Luke  ii.  22-28. 

2 1  Sam.  i.  24,  25.  ••Journal  XL 


REDEMPTION  203 

Moslem  woman  brings  forth  a  son  to  sacrifice  a  cock, 
when  she  bears  a  daughter  they  sacrifice  a  hen."  ' 

We  read  in  connection  with  the  birth  of  Isaac  that 
when  he  was  weaned  his  father  made  a  birthday  feast 
for  him.  The  same  custom  has  been  preserved  through 
the  millenniums  to  the  present  time,  and  was  related  by 
the  emir  whom  I  have  already  quoted.  "They  have  a 
feast  when  the  child  is  a  year  old.  They  sacrifice  a  vic- 
tim, read  the  first  sura  of  the  Koran,  and  anoint  the  child 
with  blood."  2 

The  last  interview  that  I  had  with  a  Syrian  with 
respect  to  the  customs  of  the  country  was  with  Abd 
Musa,  who  is  the  minister  of  the  shrine  of  Khuddr,  near 
the  base  of  Mount  Carmel.  I  had  Cook's  agent  at  Haifa 
as  interpreter,  who  expressed  some  fear  lest  this  ignorant 
Moslem  should  not  be  communicative,  but  I  found  him 
exceedingly  friendly.  He  made  the  following  statement: 
"All  the  sects  visit  the  shrine — Moslems,  Christians, 
Druses,  Persians  (Babites),  and  Jews." 

The  shrine  consists  of  a  cave  excavated  out  of  the 
rock  where,  according  to  monkish  tradition,  the  Prophet 
Elijah  found  a  home.  "If  the  victim  is  for  a  child  or 
man,  they  dip  a  finger  in  the  blood  and  put  it  on  the 
forehead  of  the  boy  or  man  for  whom  the  sacrifice  is 
made.  All  the  sects  do  this  ....  the  Jews  put  flowers 
on  the  horns  of  the  ram  used  as  a  sacrifice,  and  the  women 
carry  it. "  ' 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  how  universal  the  customs 
are  with  which  we  are  dealing,  extending  not  only  through 
Syria,  Palestine,  and  Egypt,  but  through  other  parts  of 
the  world  as  well.      This  fact  finds  abundant  illustration 

•  Ibid. 

2  Gen.  xxi.  8. 

'Journal  XIII.,  Mount  Carmel. 


204  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

in  such  books  as  Dr.  Trumbull's  Threshold  Covenant, 
and  various  works  on  comparative  religion,  as  Mr, 
Frazer's  Golden  Bough. 

The  following  account  was  given  of  the  marriage  cus- 
toms at  Mehardeh,  which  are  common  among  the  Greeks 
and  Protestants.  In  that  town  they  have  all  the  wed- 
dings on  a  given  day  in  the  year  after  harvest  is  over. 
In  connection  with  the  marriage  ceremony:  "They 
slaughter  a  sheep  outside  the  door  of  the  house;  while 
the  blood  is  still  flowing,  the  bride  steps  over  the  blood 
of  the  animal  ....  the  pastor  thinks  there  is  much  the 
same  idea  underlying  this  custom  as  in  building  a  new 
house;  that  unless  they  sacrifice  an  animal  there  will  be 
some  misfortune."  ^ 

In  almost  identical  language  Burckhardt  describes  the 
use  of  blood  among  the  Copts  in  Egypt.  He  says,  "they 
kill  a  sheep  as  soon  as  the  bride  enters  the  bridegroom's 
house,  and  she  is  obliged  to  step  over  the  blood  flowing 
upon  the  threshold."^  We  have  already  seen  that  a 
pilgrim  on  his  return  home  cannot  cross  the  threshold  of 
his  house  until  a  victim  has  been  slain  and  he  has  stepped 
over  the  blood. 

There  is  doubtless  a  similar,  though  a  different,  mean- 
ing in  another  custom  which  Burckhardt  relates  in  con- 
nection with  a  marriage  among  the  Inezes,  a  Bedouin 
tribe:  "The  marriage  day  being  appointed  ....  the 
bridegroom  comes  with  a  lamb  in  his  arms  to  the  tent  of 
the  girl's  father,  and  there  cuts  the  lamb's  throat  before 
witnesses.  As  soon  as  the  blood  falls  upon  the  ground, 
the  marriage  ceremony  is  regarded  as  complete."  It  is 
also  interesting  to  note  that  among  the  Beni  Harb,  in 
Hedjaz,  it  is  deemed  necessary  to   the  completion  of  a 

'  Journal  XL,  Mehardeh. 

2  Notes  on  the  Bedouin  andWahadys,  London,  1830,  p.  151, 


REDEMPTION  20$ 

marriage  that  the  blood  of  a  sheep  should  flow  upon  the 
ground.'  Palmer  mentions  another  significant  use  of 
blood  at  a  marriage  among  the  Bedouin  of  the  Sinaitic 
Peninsula.  After  all  the  preliminaries  have  taken  place, 
and  her  future  husband's  abba  has  been  thrown  over  the 
prospective  bride,  who  with  shrieks  and  cries  has 
attempted  to  escape,  the  women  take  her  in  charge:  "A 
tent  is  next  erected  for  her  in  front  of  her  father's  habi- 
tation, to  which  she  is  conducted,  and  then  sprinkled  with 
the  blood  of  a  sheep  sacrificed  for  the  occasion."  ^ 

It  is  quite  common  to  slay  a  victim  in  behalf  of  one 
who  is  ill.  A  peasant  at  Nebk  said:  "A  fedou  is  given 
to  the  face  of  God.  It  is  vowed  for  various  purposes, 
for  one  who  is  ill,  or  for  one  who  is  traveling."  ^ 

The  same  custom  was  in  vogue  among  the  Babyloni- 
ans, as  sacrifices  for  those  who  were  ill  were  also  offered 
by  them.* 

There  is  a  shrine  at  Mahin,  in  the  Syrian  Desert,  where 
travelers  seek  a  blessing  before  setting  out  on  a  jour- 
ney.' 

Surur  of  Bagdad  gave  the  following  account  of  the 
shrine  of  Abdu  Khadir,  which  is  the  largest  mosque  in 
Bagdad,  and  of  sacrifices  offered  by  Indian  Moslems  who 
come  to  it  on  a  pilgrimage:  "They  vow  that  if  a  man 
who  is  ill  begins  to  recover  he  shall  go  to  the  shrine. 
He  is  stripped  to  the  waist.  Then  two  men  lift  a  lamb 
or  a  kid  above  his  head,  and  bathe  his  face,  shoulders, 
and  the  upper  part  of  his  body  with  the  blood.  While 
the  butcher  kills  the  animal   the  sheik  repeats  the   first 

'  Ibid.,  pp.6i,  151. 

2  Palmer,  The  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  New  York,  1872,  p.  83. 
'Journal  XI. 

*  Zimmern,  Beitriige  zur  Kenntniss  der  Babylonischen  Religion, 
Leipzig,  1901,  p.  92. 

'Journal  VI.,  Mahin,  summer  of  1900. 


206  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

sura  of  the  Koran.      They  also  wrap  him   in  the  skin  of 
the  animal."  ' 

I  have  already  mentioned,  in  another  connection,  that 
it  is  customary  to  offer  sacrifices  for  the  dead.  This  is 
universal  among  the  Syrians  and  Arabs.  Sheik  Yusef  el- 
hagg  Ahmed  testifies  that  "They  have  a  fedou  for  the 
dead.  A  person  often  leaves  a  sum  in  his  will  to  be 
expended  in  the  sacrifice  of  a  victim  in  his  behalf.  They 
summon  a  reader  to  read  the  prayers  over  the  animals 
which  are  slaughtered  in  the  courtyard,  and  of  which  the 
flesh  is  afterwards  eaten."  ^ 

The  earliest  testimony  that  I  had  with  respect  to  this 
custom  was  from  Mr.  W.  G.  Harding  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  who  was  stationed  at  Kerak,  which 
he  gave  in  the  summer  of  1900:  "They  have  the  custom, 
also,  of  slaying  to  benefit  the  souls  of  the  departed. 
When  any  one  dies  his  relatives  are  supposed  to  kill  one 
or  more  animals  within  a  few  days.  They  call  th'xs  fedou, 
or  redemption,  although  they  do  not  seem  to  have  any 
conception  of  the  meaning  of  this  term.  They  consider 
that  in  some  way  it  benefits  the  dead,  but  it  is  rather  the 
public  feast  to  the  poor  that  follows  which  is  reckoned 
a  good  deed  on  the  deceased's  account.  Even  the  most 
intelligent,  however,  believe  that  if  they  omit  the  cere- 
mony some  harm  will  befall  them,  apparently  owing  to 
the  wrath  of  the  departed  spirit."  ^ 

The  Arabs  and  Syrians  are  very  sensitive  on  this  point. 
They  consider  it  necessary  that  a  man  should  not  neglect 
to  perform  his  obligations  to  the  departed,  and  they  have 
many  stories  to  tell  of  the  way  in  which  such  neglected 

1  Journal  XII.,  Hamath. 

•^Journal  X.,  Nebk. 

'Journal  VIII.,  Kerak.  It  is  very  questionable  whether  the 
benefit  which  the  dead  receive  is  from  feeding  the  poor  by  the 
flesh  of  the  sacrifice. 


REDEMPTION  20y 

jnes  have  appeared  to  them  in  dreams  at  night,  reproach- 
ing them  for  not  performing  their  duty  in  this  regard. 
They  also  relate  how  the  saint  has  often  taken  vengeance 
on  some  worshiper  for  not  paying  a  vow.  It  is  said  that 
the  ministers  of  certain  shrines  are  sometimes  at  pains  to 
act  for  the  saint  in  executing  vengeance  upon  any  one 
who  may  fail  to  fulfil  a  vow. 

One  of  the  words  for  ransom  is  fidyeh,  a  synonym  for 
fedou,  which,  according  to  Lane,  signifies  "a  ransom,  a 
thing,  or  a  captive  that  is  given  for  a  man  who  is  there- 
witli  liberated  ....  or  property  given  as  a  substitute 
or  a  ransom  for  a  captive:  and  property,  by  the  giving  of 
which  one  preserves  himself  from  evil  in  the  case  of  a 
religious  act  in  which  he  has  fallen  short  of  what  was 
incumbent,  like  the  expiation  for  the  breaking  of  an  oath 
and  of  a  fast."  ' 

On  our  way  from  Ladikiyeh  over  the  Nusairiyeh 
Mountains  to  Hamath,  we  stopped  at  a  little  village 
called  Dibbash,  which  is  inhabited  by  Greeks,  and 
received  the  following  information:  "At  the  feast  of  St. 
George  they  sacrifice,  and  the  priest  prays  over  the  sacri- 
fice. The  only  church  is  about  an  hour  away.  The 
sacrifices  are  killed  several  feet  from  the  door.  The 
heads  of  the  victims  are  turned  towards  the  east  .... 
any  man  of  good  character  may  kill  them  ....  the 
blood  goes  on  the  ground,  they  make  no  marks  with  it. 
The  suppliant  vows  it  to  such  and  such  a  saint  for  the 
sick.  It  is  called  a  fidee,  which  means  head  for  head. 
It  must  be  slaughtered,  and  the  poor  must  eat  it.  The 
slaughtering  of  it  is  more  important  than  the  eating  of 
it."- 

On  the  same  journey  we  stopped  among  Nusairiyeh, 
at  Behammra,  once   the  home  of  the  missionary  Lyde, 

'  Lane,  op.  cit.,  sub  voce.  *  Journal  XI. 


208  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

where  we  had  a  remarkable  interview  with  one  of  the 
Protestants  as  to  the  religious  customs  of  the  people. 
From  him  we  received  the  following  information  as  to 
sacrifices  offered  for  the  dead:  "They  sacrifice  for  the 
dead  before  they  put  him  in  the  grave.  On  the  evening 
of  the  sixth  day  after  the  funeral  there  is  a  feast,  and 
the  next  morning  they  have  a  sacrifice  in  the  house  of 

the  dead They  say,   'In  the  name  of  the  saint,' 

and  pray  that  God  may  forgive  him  his  sins."  After 
the  sacrifices  have  been  presented,  the  soul  may  pass  out 
of  an  opening  over  the  door  of  the  house  into  the  body 
of  a  male  child  that  is  to  be  born,  for  the  Nusairiyeh,  as 
well  as  the  Druses,  believe  in  the  transmigration  of  souls. 
A  female  soul  never  enters  the  body  of  a  male.  The 
soul  of  a  good  man  goes  into  the  body  of  a  good  man, 
the  soul  of  a  bad  man  enters  into  the  form  of  an  animal. 
The  sacrifices  cause  the  forgiveness  of  certain  sins  com- 
mitted by  the  deceased.  The  more  food  is  furnished,  the 
greater  the  efficacy  of  the  sacrifice.  A  parent  may  say, 
'redeem  soul  by  soul';  that  is,  redeem  the  soul  of  the 
man  who  is  dead  by  the  soul  of  the  animal  who  is  to  be 
killed  as  the  victim.  "The  animal  is  a  spirit  and  the 
sick  person  is  a  spirit.  The  saint  accepts  one  in  the 
place  of  the  other";  that  is,  the  soul  of  the  animal  in 
the  place  of  the  soul  of  the  man.'  It  will  be  seen  from 
that  which  precedes  that  redemption  is  accomplished 
through  death. 

It  is  a  common  custom  if  a  man  loses  a  son  to  say  to 
the  afflicted  father,  ' '  Do  not  mourn  for  him,  his  death  may 
have  saved  your  life."  When  a  death  is  announced,  the 
usual  formula  is:  "Abdullah  is  dead,  may  God  give  you 
his  life"  ;  that  is,  may  God  ransom  you  through  his  death. 
The  Emir  of  the  Mawali  at  Mehardeh  said:  "If  a  man 

1  Journal  XII. 


REDEMPTION  2O9 

loses  a  valuable  horse  by  death,  they  say  to  the  owner, 
do  not  fret  about  it,  it  has  redeemed  you";  that  is,  the 
death  of  the  horse  has  saved  your  life/ 

Joseph  Atiyeh,  whom  I  have  already  cited,  gives  the 
following  interesting  example  of  the  redemption  of 
Abdullah,  Mohammed's  grandfather,  through  death. 
"They  say  that  Abdullah,  when  he  was  digging  a  well, 
vowed  if  the  water  came  he  would  give  one  of  his  ten 
sons  in  death.  He  prepared  to  slaughter  Abdullah, 
whom  he  had  chosen  by  lot,  but  his  mother's  brothers 
forbade  it.  He  accordingly  redeemed  him  by  slaughter- 
ing one  hundred  camels."  * 

The  following  are  still  further  illustrations  of  the  use 
of  the  term  fidee.  According  to  the  testimony  of  Surur 
of  Bagdad,  already  quoted:  "There  is  a  fidee  by  means 
of  money,  but  sacrifice  is  in  connection  with  a  vow,  not 
even  the  dahhiyeh  sacrifice  is  called  fidee^  it  is  called  alms. 
A  man  may  take  out  a  keffarch  for  an  oath  if  he  has 
sworn  falsely.  If  he  is  a  very  poor  man  he  may  fast  for 
three  days,  or  he  may  feed  ten  poor  men.  This  is  laid 
down  for  them  in  the  Koran.  Or  he  may  redeem  a  slave; 
this  is  the  highest  form  and  is  called  keffarch  in  the  Koran 
itself.      It  is  not  used  for  any  other  sin  but  a  false  oath. " 

Another  term  for  sacrifice  which  is  considered  as  a 
synonym  of  fedou^  and  the  other  words  named,  is 
keffareh,  which  is  defined  as  follows  by  Lane:  "An 
expiation  for  a  sin,  or  a  crime,  or  a  violated  oath;  an 
action,  or  a  quality  which  has  the  effect  of  effacing  a 
wrong  action  or  sin  or  crime;  that  which  covers  or  con- 
ceals sins  or  crimes" ;  from  the  second  form  of  the  verb, 
kaffara:  "It  .  .  .  .  covered,  or  concealed,  the  crime  or 
sin  ....  or  expiated  it,  or  annulled  it  ...  .  the  say- 
ing in  the  Koran  (v.  70)  means,  'we  would  cover,  or  con- 

'  Journal  XI.  Hbid. 


210  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

ceal  their  sins,  so  that  they  should  become  as  though 
they  had  not  been' ;  or  it  may  mean,  'we  would  do  away 
with  their  sins';  as  indicated  by  another  saying  in  the 
Koran  (xi,  ii6):  'good  actions  do  away  with  sin.'  " 
Lane  gives  another  quotation,  which  signifies,  "God 
effaced  his  sin."  ^ 

In  the  same  connection  the  minister  of  the  "Chair" 
said:  "They  kill  animals  for  the  dead  in  behalf  of  his 
spirit.  They  call  such  a  sacrifice  fedou.  This  goes 
before  him  as  light,  serves  him  in  the  next  life  as  he 
approaches  God.       It  becomes  a  keffareh  for  his  sins."  ^ 

Sheik  Yusef  el-hagg  Ahmed  affirms,  with  reference  to 
this  same  subject:  "The  Shiites  do  not  use  the  term 
fedou,  they  employ  the  term  keffareh  instead."  Ques- 
tion. "Does  it  cover  sin?"  Answer.  "Who  knows 
whether  it  covers  sin  or  how  many  sacrifices  can  cover 
sin?  God  only  can  cover  it,  but  they  offer  it  in  the  hope 
it  will  be  covered."  ^ 

Another  Moslem  testified:  "On  the  day  of  judgment 
God  weighs  carefully  in  his  scales  the  good  and  bad 

'Lane,  op.  cit.,  sub  voce.  Haupt:  Babylonian  Elements  in 
the  Levitical  Ritual,  Journal  of  Biblical  Literature,  1900,  p.  61, 
remarks  in  regard  to  kipper :  "  The  original  meaning  seems  to  be 
'to  wipe  off'  not  'to  cover,'  as  Albrecht  Ritschl  supposed  in  his 
famous  work  on  The  Christian  Doctrine  of  Justification  and  Atone- 
ment. Ritschl's  knowledge  of  Semitic  was,  according  to  Lagarde's 
Mittheilungen,  somewhat  inadequate.  The  mere  fact  that  the  gov- 
ernment appointed  Ritschl  official  examiner  in  Hebrew  proves 
that  he  did  not  know  much  about  it."  A  like  criticism  might 
apply  to  Lane  in  his  Lexicon,  and  to  Palmer  in  his  translation 
of  the  Koran.  The  word  kaffara  occurs  in  many  passages  which 
Palmer  translates  "to  cover,"  e. g,  iii.,  191,  "Lord  forgive  us  our 
sins  and  cover  our  offences."  Cf.  iii.  194;  v.  70;  xxxix.  36  and 
often.  This  seems  tc  be  the  primary  meaning  of  kafara,  as,  to 
give  translations:  "He  covered  the  sown  seed  with  earth;" 
"the  clouds  covered  the  sky;"  "he  covered  his  coat  of  mail 
with  a  garment;  "  and  very  often. 

2  Journal  X. 

'Journal  XL,  Mehardeh. 


REDEMPTION  2  I  I 

deeds  of  each  one,  and  sets  up  a  narrow  bridge  like  a  hair 
over  the  infernal  regions.  They  then  cross  the  bridge 
on  the  animals  they  have  sacrificed.  Nevertheless,  they 
call  the  blood  keffareh  and  consider  that  it  helps  in  aton- 
ing for  their  sins."  A  devout  Moslem,  of  good  sense 
but  unlettered,  told  Suleiman  of  Nebk,  "that  sacrifice 
would  cover  sin." 

Some  of  the  above  expressions  with  regard  to  the  use 
of  blood  seem  rather  startling,  and  may  perhaps  afford  a 
commentary  on  a  quotation  by  Muir  in  The  Life  of 
Mahomet.  "Wathic  said  of  a  Moslem  saint,  'leave  me 
alone,  while  thus  in  his  blood  I  expiate  my  sins.'  "  ' 

I  never  visited  any  shrine  in  the  country  without  find- 
ing something  that  was  curious  and  helpful  in  my  investi- 
gation. At  Braigh,  on  the  way  from  Homs  to  Nebk,  I 
stopped  at  a  shrine  of  a  Persian  saint,  by  the  side  of  the 
road.  We  had  a  conversation  with  the  sheik  of  the  vil- 
lage, who  said  in  regard  to  one  of  the  channels  of  water 
from  which  the  village  derived  its  supply:  "Whenthechan- 
nels  are  cleared  out  once  a  year,  and  the  water  is  after- 
wards turned  on,  they  make  a  sacrifice  for  the  weli,  by 
means  of  the  bursting  forth  of  blood.  A  sheep  is  slaugh- 
tered in  front  of  the  weli,  its  head  is  turned  toward  the 
south,  and  its  blood  is  made  to  run  in  the  same  direction."^ 

I  have  already  alluded  to  our  interview  with  an  initi- 
ated member  of  the  Ismailiyeh,  which  shows  how  uni- 
versally the  same  phraseology  "bursting  forth  of  blood" 
is  found  among  different  sects,  and  in  parts  of  the  coun- 
try which  are  remote  from  each  other:  "The  dahJiiyeh 
may  be  for  a  man's  father  or  mother  who  is  dead.  It  is 
a  vow  to  God.  It  is  a  universal  custom,  long  prevailing. 
It  is  for  the  breaking  forth  of  blood  to  the  face  of  God, 
on  behalf  of  the  dead.     Usually  before  a  man  dies,  he 

'  Vol.  I.,  London,  i86i,  p.  517.  ^  Journal  XII. 


212  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

requires  his  relatives  to  take  a  solemn  oath,  that  they 
will  make  annual  sacrifices  in  his  behalf.  They  are  afraid 
of  God  if  they  are  unfaithful.  They  never  neglect  such 
sacrifices  ....  no  use  is  made  of  the  blood.  The 
bursting  forth  of  blood  is  absolutely  indispensable."  ' 

A  Moslem,  speaking  with  reference  to  the  dahhiyeh 
sacrifices,  observed:  "The  bursting  forth  of  the  blood 
is  the  most  important  thing."  The  Hawaii  Arabs  hold 
the  same  view:  "The  vow  is  presented  to  the  face  of 
God.  Any  one  who  is  washed  and  is  ceremonially  clean 
may  kill  the  victim.  They  take  its  blood  and  make  a 
stripe  on  the  back  of  the  animal.  It  is  a  mark  of  the 
good  one;  that  is,  of  the  weli.  It  indicates  that  the 
sacrifice  has  been  presented  to  him.  They  cook  the 
victim  and  eat  it,  and  share  its  flesh  with  the  poor. 
The  sacrifice  is  not  complete  without  the  shedding  of 
blood.  It  would  not  do  to  get  a  certain  quantity  of  meat 
and  eat  it  in  their  houses;  without  the  bursting  forth  of 

blood,  there    is  no  fulfilment  of  the  vow They 

never  use  the  term  fedou  ....  but  they  employ  the 
verb  from  which  fedou  comes."  It  is  in  this  connection 
that  the  emir  said:  "If  a  man  loses  a  valuable  horse 
by  death,  they  say  'it  has  redeemed  you.'  "  ^ 

At  Snobar,  a  village  of  the  Nusairiyeh,  there  is  a 
shrine  of  the  Persian  saint,  Ajami,  where  they  have  an 
annual  festival.  Like  the  Ismailiyeh  they  make  use  only 
of  males  for  sacrifices.  A  poor  man  can  offer  a  fowl, 
"as  far  as  his  hand  reaches. ' '  ^      The  shrine  called  among 

'Journal  XI. 

2  Ibid. 

'The  phrase  here  is  almost  the  same  as  in  the  Priests'  Code. 
Cf.  Lev.  V.  7:  "  But  if  his  hand  does  not  reach  the  sufficiency  of  a 
lamb  then  he  shall  bring  for  his  guilt-offering,  which  he  hath 
sinned,  two  turtle  doves,  or  two  young  pigeons  to  Jehovah."  Cf. 
vs.  11;  xiv.  32. 


REDEMPTION  213 

the  Nusairiyeh  and  in  Asia  Minor  zeyareh,  is  under  the 
open  heavens,  surrounded  by  a  rude  wall.  Inside  of  this 
wall  is  a  sacred  tree,  a  wild  mulberry,  on  which  rags  are 
tied  in  performance  of  a  vow.  Those  who  are  ill  tie 
them  about  their  necks.  Inside  of  this  wall,  which  sur- 
rounds the  zeyareh,  are  three  swarms  of  bees.  They 
are  owned  by  the  weli,  and  the  honey  is  given  to  the 
poor. 

With  respect  to  the  sacrifices  offered  in  performance 
of  vows,  a  man  said  that  they  vowed  the  bursting  forth 
of  blood  to  the  face  of  God.  Our  informant  said  the 
sacrifices  were  offered  to  the  weli.  In  connection  with 
vows  in  case  of  illness,  blood  may  be  smeared  on  the 
part  affected,  as  the  stomach  or  the  bowels.' 

As  showing  how  prevalent  the  expression  quoted  is, 
we  were  told  by  the  Protestant  teacher  at  Mehardeh:  "It 
is  St.  George  {Khuddr)  who  causes  the  Sabbatic  foun- 
tain in  northern  Syria  to  work  intermittently  as  it  does. 
All  sects  sacrifice  there;  that  is,  at  the  fountain.  It  is 
through  the  power  of  the  saint  that  the  water  flows.  On 
April  23d  is  the  feast  of  St.  George,  which  is  called  the 
Feast  of  the  Convent  ....  the  Christians  come  first, 
the  Nusairiyeh  second,  the  Moslems  third.  Moslems  are 
ceasing  to  go  because  of  the  unsavory  reputation  of  the 
monastery.  They  are  now,  therefore,  sacrificing  the  vic- 
tims promised  in  their  vows  in  their  own  villages,  with 
their  heads  turned  toward  the  monastery.  He  was  in  a 
Moslem  village  where  a  man  had  a  calf  to  offer  to  St. 
George.  He  asked  the  sheik  what  he  should  do,  and 
was  advised  either  to  sacrifice  it,  or  bring  it  to  the  village 
to  the  agent  of  the  shrine,  who  was  collecting  vows  for 
the  monastery,  and  redeem  it.  The  agent  said,  what  you 
vowed  'was  the  outbursting  of  blood  to  the  saint.'     The 

'Journal  XI. 


214  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

meat  is  eaten  on  behalf  of  the  spirit  of  the  saint;  that  is, 
of  St.  George,  as  from  his  bounty."  ' 

While  at  Rasheyeh  I  had  an  interview  with  a  Druse 
woman,  in  which  a  teacher  from  the  Girls'  School  at 
Damascus  served  as  my  interpreter.  This  Druse  had 
traveled  widely  with  her  husband ;  had  visited  Urfa,  the 
scene  of  the  Armenian  massacres,  and  had  lived  ten  years 
in  Bagdad.  In  Urfa  there  is  a  shrine  of  Nimrod.  She 
said:  "If  a  man  is  ill,  or  in  prison,  or  if  the  flocks  are 
diseased,  his  relatives  go  to  the  makam  and  say,  'we 
have  come  to  your  house,  we  are  under  the  protection 
{dakhiel)  of  a  given  prophet.  We  have  fallen  on  your 
threshold';  that  is,  have  kissed  the  threshold  of  your 
shrine.     They  vow  a  sheep,  either  male  or  female,  and 

generally  have  the  animal  selected  quite  young 

Some  of  the  company  sleep  at  the  shrine  that  night. 
Usually  a  Moslem  sheik  kills  the  animal.  The  head  of 
the  victim   is  turned  toward  the  south.      If  there  is  no 

Moslem    priest,    a    Druse    slaughters They    put 

blood  marks  on  the  outer  door  of  the  shrine The 

important  thing  is  the  shedding  of  the  blood,  the  bursting 
forth  of  the  blood."  ' 

One  of  the  most  significant  events  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment which  is  found  in  one  of  the  oldest  documents  is 
the  conclusion  of  the  Covenant  between  God  and  Israel, 
where,  after  the  reading  of  the  book  of  the  Covenant, 
the  blood  is  sprinkled  on  the  altar  and  the  people.^  We 
may  be  certain  that  this  represents  ancient  usage  among 
the  Semites.  Singularly  enough  we  find  a  parallel  cus- 
tom among  the  Ismailiyeh,  which,  notwithstanding  the 
peculiarities  of  their  faith,  has  been  transmitted  through 
the  millenniums.  I  quote  from  the  same  interview  with 
one  of  the  Ismailiyeh   from  which   I  have  already  made 

Ubid.  2  Journal  XII.  »Ex.  xxiv.  6-8. 


REDEMPTION  215 

several  citations:  "There  is  an  annual  festival  at  the 
shrine.  They  vow  vows.  All  who  desire  go.  They 
wash  and  put  on  clean  clothes.  They  dance  and  sing. 
Their  own  leaders  do  not  permit  men  and  women  to  dance 
together,  unless  they  belong  to  the  same  family.  They 
dance  in  honor  of  the  well.  The  sacrifice  must  be  a  male 
and  a  sheep,  must  be  perfect,  nothing  broken,  nothing 
wanting,  must  be  at  least  a  year  old.  They  sacrifice  it 
to  the  well.  They  slaughter  it  outside  of  the  door  of  the 
shrine,  very  near  the  threshold,  at  the  expense  of  the 
well  (on  account  of  his  purse).  A  religious  sheik 
slaughters  it,  and  reads  the  first  sura  of  the  Koran  over 
it.  They  believe  that  by  the  permission  of  God  the 
saint  is  there.  The  head  points  to  the  east,  that  the 
throat  may  be  toward  the  south.  They  sprinkle  the  stones 
outside  the  well  in  the  wall,  and  the  sick  person  who  has 
made  the  vow,  with  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice.  They 
sprinkle  the  blood  on  the  stones  above  the  door  and 
on  the  two  sides,  so  that  the  sacrifice  may  be  accept- 
able. They  cook  the  animal  and  give  it  to  the  people 
who  are  there.  The  man  who  sacrifices  eats  with  them. 
....  They  must  slaughter,  the  eating  is  not  so  neces- 
sary."' 

In  another  chapter  I  have  already  cited  many  exam- 
ples of  blood-sprinkling  in  connection  with  houses,  on  the 
door,  the  door-posts,  and  the  lintel.  I  give  one  other 
example  as  bearing  on  this  discussion.  Dr.  Assadoun 
Aram  Attonnyan  of  Aleppo  related  the  following:  "In 
Urfa  there  is  a  well  which  has  healing  property.  It  is 
especially  good  for  leprosy.  The  well  is  inside  the  house. 
They  kill  a  lamb,  goat,  or  pigeons,  then  put  their  hands 
in  the  blood  and  mark  the  inside  of  the  wall  of  the  build- 
ing."      Such   marks  of  the  bloody  hand  or  of  a  hand 

'Journal  XI. 


2l6  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

traced  in  red  paint  are  very  common  in  Syria  and  Pales- 
tine— they  are  supposed  to  be  efficacious  in  protecting  a 
house  from  the  jinn.* 

Not  only  these  sacrifices,  which  have  been  character- 
istic of  Semitic  religion  throughout  the  ages,  but  also  the 
chief  sacrifice  in  the  Moslem  ritual  at  Muna  is  distin- 
guished by  the  same  characteristics.  It  was  the  testi- 
mony of  a  Moslem:  "The  important  part  of  the  sacrifice 
is  the  pouring  out  of  blood.  As  soon  as  the  blood  of  the 
victims  has  flowed  at  Muna,  they  bury  the  bodies  in  the 
ground.  Any  dahhiyeh  sacrifice  is  much  more  acceptable 
to  God  if  offered  on  the  mountain.  No  use  is  made  of 
the  blood  whatever.  It  is  said  that  in  Irak  they  take 
the  blood  of  the  sacrifice  and  put  it  over  each  door 
inside  the  court,  so  that  there  is  the  sign  of  the  bloody 
hand.  "2 

I  must  reserve  the  discussion  of  the  significance  of 
sacrifice  for  the  next  chapter.  But  it  is  possible  that  an 
incident  related  to  me  by  the  Rev.  F.  B.  Meyer  of  Lon- 
don may  have  some  bearing  on  this  investigation.  While 
he  was  in  Calcutta,  at  the  Temple  of  the  Goddess  Kali, 
he  was  present  at  a  ceremony  which  filled  him  with  such 
disgust  that  he  rebuked  the  worshipers  for  it.  Neverthe- 
less, it  seems  significant.  Until  the  English  interfered, 
it  was  customary  at  the  annual  festival  of  this  goddess  to 
bring  a  human  sacrifice,  but  since  this  practice  has  been 
stopped  by  the  enforcement  of  an  English  statute  for- 
bidding it,  it  has  been  customary  for  the  one  offering  the 
sacrifice  to  hold  a  little  boy  in  his  arms,  while  another 
brought  a  kid  in  his  arms,  as  the  substitute  for  the  son 
whom  his  ancestors  would  have  offered.  When  the 
throats  of  the  kids  have  been  cut,  and  the  blood  has 
flowed,  it  is  customary  for  the  holy  men   to  catch  the 

1  Journal  XIII.  2  journal  XI. 


REDEMPTION  2  1/ 

blood  in  their  hands,  smear  it  on  their  faces,  and  dance 
about  in  it.  It  was  this  ceremony  that  shocked  Mr. 
Meyer,  and  which  he  rebuked,  but  which  is  undoubtedly 
an  essential  part  of  such  an  offering.' 

'Journal  XIII.,  On  the  train  from  Damascus  to  Beirut. 

Sir  William  Wilson  Hunter  gives  the  following  account  of 
human  sacrifices  among  the  Kandhs  in  his  Brief  History  of  the  In- 
dian Peoples,  Oxford,  i8g7,  p.  49,  which  presents  another  aspect  of 
human  sacrifice  as  once  practised  in  India.  "  The  Kandhs,  like 
the  Santals,  have  many  deities,  race-gods,  tribe-gods,  family-gods, 
and  a  multitude  of  malignant  spirits  and  demons.  But  their  great 
divinity  is  the  earth-god,  who  represents  the  productive  energy  of 
nature.  Twice  each  year,  at  sowing-time  and  at  harvest,  and  in  all 
seasons  of  special  calamity,  the  earth-god  required  a  human  sacri- 
fice.   The  duty  of  kidnapping  victims  from  the  plains  rested  with 

the  lower  race  attached  to  the  Kandh  village The  victim, 

on  being  brought  to  the  hamlet,  was  welcomed  at  every  threshold, 
daintily  fed  and  kindly  treated  till  the  fatal  day  arrived.  He  was 
then  solemnly  sacrificed  to  tlie  earth-god,  the  Kandhs  shouting  in 
his  dying  ear,  'We  bought  you  with  a  price:  no  sin  rests  with  us! '  " 


CHAPTER   XVII 

THE   SIGNIFICANCE   OF   SACRIFICE 

I  went  to  Palestine  in  the  early  summer  of  1898  with 
the  full  persuasion  that  the  sacrificial  meal  was  the  oldest 
form  of  sacrifice,  as  Professor  W.  Robertson  Smith  and 
others  maintain/  Indeed,  my  observations  of  the  shrines 
and  high  places  during  the  autumn  of  the  same  year 
seemed  abundantly  to  confirm  this  view.  I  learned  that 
every  vow  of  animals  that  was  paid  was  prepared  as  a  feast, 
either  for  the  one  offering  the  sacrifice  and  his  friends, 
including  any  that  might  be  present,  or  for  the  poor. 

Again,  all  the  characteristics  of  such  offerings  as  are 
described  in  Deuteronomy  seemed  to  be  preserved  in 
these  modern  sacrifices.  According  to  the  legislation 
contained  in  that  code,  except  in  one  passage,^  fire-offer- 
ings are  not  mentioned.  There  was  feasting,  and  every 
expression  of  joy  before  the  Lord.  So  now,  when  vows 
are  paid,  men  and  women  eat,  sing,  and  dance.  What 
could  be  more  natural,  from  the  study  of  such  customs, 
than  to  see  in  them  a  confirmation  of  a  theory  which  has 
been  presented  with  such  learning  and  ability? 

1  Encyclopsedia  Britannica,  New  York,  1886,  pp.  133,  134:  "A 
sacrifice,  therefore,  is  primarily  a  meal  offered  to  the  deity  .... 
The  sacrificial  meal  with  the  general  features  that  have  been  de- 
scribed may  be  regarded  as  common  to  all  the  so-called  native 
religions  of  the  civilized  races  of  antiquity — religions  which  have 
a  predominantly  joyous  character,  and  in  which  the  relations  of 
man  to  the  gods  were  not  troubled  by  any  habitual  and  oppressive 
sense  of  human  guilt."  Cf.  Smith,  Lectures  on  the  Religion  of 
the  Semites,  New  York,  1889,  pp.  237,  327. 

^Deut.  xviii.  i.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  reference  to 
fire-offerings  is  no  more  original  in  this  text  than  in  that  of  Josh, 
xiii.  14,  where  it  does  not  occur  in  the  LXX. 

218 


THE    SIGNIFICANCE   OF   SACRIFICE  219 

I  was  led,  however,  a  year  ago  last  summer,  after  my 
researches  with  respect  to  the  use  of  blood,  to  distrust 
the  regnant  hypothesis  as  to  the  primitive  form  of  sacri- 
fice. And  that  distrust  was  greatly  deepened  by  the 
researches  made  last  summer,  which  have  been  set  forth 
in  the  three  preceding  chapters.  Indeed,  I  was  amazed 
when  I  heard  certain  terms  employed  with  such  persist- 
ency in  different  parts  of  the  country,  remote  from  each 
other,  as  for  example,  the  necessity  of  the  "bursting  forth 
of  blood"  before  the  face  of  the  Lord,  or  the  weli. 

If  this  teaching  were  found  in  Islam  as  a  necessary 
conditio!,  of  acceptable  sacrifice,  we  might  well  say  that 
Bedouin,  Arabs,  Fellahin,  and  more  enlightened  Syrians, 
coming  under  the  influence  of  positive  religion,  had 
abandoned  their  ancient  customs  in  bringing  their  sacri- 
fices as  they  are  wont  to  do  to-day.  This  is  possible, 
though  highly  improbable.  But  when  we  find  that  blood 
is  regarded  among  orthodox  Moslems  as  defiling,  so  that 
they  will  not  step  over  the  blood  of  a  sacrifice,  and  con- 
sider it  a  priori  impossible  that  it  should  be  placed  on  their 
shrines,  or  if  so  placed  it  is  considered  as  bringing  down 
the  rightful  wrath  of  the  weli,  we  must  conclude  that  we 
are  dealing  with  a  primitive  custom,  going  back  of  the 
time  of  Ezekiel,  of  the  oldest  document  in  the  Penta- 
teuch, and  of  usages  which  are  found  in  ancient  Baby- 
lonia.' 

There  are  three  considerations  which  need  to  be  em- 
phasized in  the  discussion  of  the  significance  of  sacrifice. 
The  first  is  the  persistence  of  custom  among  the  Orientals, 
to  which  allusion  has  already  been  made.^  That  which 
is  customary  now  in  all  parts  of  the  country  among  all 
sects    and   classes    of    people,    as    Bedouin,    Arabs,    and 

'  Zimmern,  op.  cit.    See  introduction  and  texts. 
»C{.  p.  52. 


220  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

Fellahin,  may  be  considered  as  customary  from  time 
immemorial.  Custom  among  the  Orientals  is  as  binding 
as  morality  and  religion  among  us;  indeed,  custom  is 
morality  and  religion  to  the  Oriental.*  The  second  con- 
sideration, of  like  importance,  is  the  ordinary  conception 
of  sin  among  ancient  and  modern  Semites.  There  are 
indeed  exceptions,  but  only  enough  to  prove  the  rule. 
We  have  seen  that  sin  is  not  ordinarily  conceived  of  as 
guilt,  but  rather  as  misfortune.^  There  are,  to  be  sure, 
traces  of  a  nobler  idea;  but  the  dominant  notion  is  that 
misfortune  comes,  not  because  a  man  or  woman  is  guilty 
of  some  sin,  but  because  God  is  arbitrarily  angry.  Hence 
his  favor  must  be  sought.  A  third  consideration  is  in 
the  view  which  obtains  of  divine  beings  among  the  igno- 
rant, whose  belief  represents  original  usage.  We  have 
seen  that  they  do  not  clearly  distinguish  in  their  thinking 
between  a  jinn,  an  ancestor,  a  saint  (weli),  and  God,  as 
the  source  of  their  blessings,  or  their  misfortunes.  Good 
and  evil  come  alike  from  God,  the  weli,  the  ancestor;  and 
the  jinn,  for  there  are  good  genii  as  well  as  evil.^  A  jinn, 
as  we  have  seen,  can  make  the  ill  well,  and  the  well  ill.* 

Now,  if  we  can  find  what  is  the  custom  regarding 
sacrifice,  always  and  everywhere,  we  may  be  sure  that 
the  same  has  been  the  custom  back  to  the  very  begin- 
nings of  the  history  of  the  Semites.  Or  if,  in  other 
words,  a  feast  at  which  the  saint  was  the  host,  was  the 
customary  idea  of  sacrifice  in  primitive  times,  it  should 
be  the  customary  idea  now.  If  we  find  another  element 
in  sacrifice  dominant  among  those  Syrians,  Arabs,  and 
Bedouin  who  are  nearest  the  condition  of  primitive  life 
now,  we  may  be  certain  that  the  same  element  was  domi- 
nant in  the  primitive  history  of  the  Semites.     The  data 

•  See  p.  65.  3  p,  g4, 

2  P.  124.  ,  ■*?.  92. 


THE   SIGNIFICANCE   OF    SACRIFICE  22  1 

furnished  in  ancient  literature,  from  which  the  critics 
conclude  that  the  sacrificial  meal  was  the  pre-eminent 
element  in  sacrifice,  are  inadequate  for  a  satisfactory 
induction;  those  which  exist  to-day  are  abundant.  After 
the  researches  which  I  was  enabled  to  make  last  sum- 
mer, I  think  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  what  our  con- 
clusion must  be,  if  we  carefully  consider  the  facts  which 
I  have  detailed. 

Again,  if  the  mass  of  modern  Semites — and  I  speak  now 
of  those  who  are  not  under  the  influence  of  Islam  and 
Christianity — look  upon  misfortune  as  an  evidence  of  sin, 
and  as  an  indication  of  the  displeasure  of  some  being  to 
whom,  practically,  they  assign  the  value  of  God,  whether 
he  be  weli,  ancestor,  or  jinn,  then  our  view  of  the  most 
important  element  in  sacrifice  must  be  different.  We  are 
not  to  go  to  these  people  for  anything  but  usage.  They 
may  be  able  to  give  an  explanation  of  that  usage  as  it 
may  occur  to  them  at  the  moment,  or  there  may  be  folk- 
lore which  represents  the  effort  of  the  generations  to 
explain  certain  phenomena.  Of  such  folk-lore  I  have 
found  little  or  nothing  which  has  a  bearing  on  the  expla- 
nation of  sacrifice. 

It  is  true  that  sacrifice  may  be  regarded  as  a  gift  on 
the  part  of  the  suppliant,  which  is  designed  favorably  to 
dispose  the  being,  who  is  God  to  him,  in  some  undertaking 
on  which  he  is  about  to  enter;  or  to  remove  his  anger. 
It  may  be  something  like  a  bribe  to  blind  the  eyes  of 
deity,  a  keffareh,^  so  that  the  divine  being  who  is  dis- 
pleased may  overlook  the  offense  on  account  of  which 
he  is  angry. 

Connected  with  the  sacrifice,  there  may  be  a  meal,  at 
which  all  is  hilarity.  Before  the  sacrifice  was  made,  or 
the  vow  was  paid,  there  might  be  a  sort  of  uneasy  feeling 

'P.  2IO. 


222  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

on  the  part  of  the  worshiper,  but  when  the  promised  gift 
has  once  been  made  to  the  weli,  what  a  weight  is  rolled 
off  from  the  man!  The  sheep,  goat,  calf,  bullock,  camel 
that  was  vowed  has  changed  owners.  It  is  no  longer 
the  property  of  the  man  who  gave  it,  but  has  become 
the  property  of  the  saint  or  divine  being.  Now  it  is  to 
be  spread  before  the  man  who  offered  it,  and  his  friends, 
as  the  saint's  bounty.  All  is  well,  care  is  banished, 
there  is  a  feast.  Why  should  not  the  light-hearted 
Bedouin,  Arab,  or  Fellahin  eat,  sing,  dance,  and  be 
merry?  Many  times,  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  I  have 
sought  to  learn  whether  the  saint  were  regarded  as  actu- 
ally present  at  such  a  feast.  I  have  hardly  been  able  to 
discover  any  such  idea. 

But  another  notion  has  been  set  forth  with  a  strange 
and  surprising  unanimity,  in  all  parts  of  the  country, 
among  Bedouin,  Arabs,  and  Fellahin,  as  well  as  among 
fairly  intelligent  Moslems  and  Christians,  namely,  that  the 
"  shedding  of  blood,"  the  "  bursting  forth  of  blood,"  is 
the  essential  element  in  sacrifice.'  As  to  the  accuracy, 
as  well  as  the  emphasis,  of  this  testimony,  there  can  be  no 
question.  An  aversion  to  the  teaching  of  the  Scriptures 
with  reference  to  the  blood  atonement,  or  a  predilection 
in  its  favor  should  have  no  place  here.  There  can  be  no 
scientific  research  if  we  come  to  such  an  inquiry  with 
our  minds  made  up  as  to  what  the  result  should  be. 
Here,  if  anywhere,  an  open  mind  is  absolutely  essential. 
It  is  clear  that  the  necessity  for  shedding  blood  does  not 
exclude  the  character  of  sacrifice  as  a  gift,  nor  does  it 
exclude  the  feast  which  follows  it.  When  the  sacrifice 
is  made,  then,  as  has  been  affirmed,  men  and  women 
may  be  glad.  But  it  is  a  very  serious  question  whether 
the  term  "sacrificial  meal"  is  not  a  misnomer. 

»See  chapter  XVI. 


THE    SIGNIFICANXE   OF   SACRIFICE  223 

In  what  does  the  sacrifice  consist?     Is  it  in  giving  a 
certain  animal?     It  seems  that  this  is  not  so.     Young 
animals  are  sometimes  given  to  a  weli,  and  are  not  sacri- 
ficed   for    months.      It    is    clearly    recognized    that    the 
animal   thus  given  so  fully  belongs  to  the  weli  that  even 
if  blemishes  develop  in  it  the  man  who  gave  it  ceases  to 
be  responsible  for  them.     While  the  man  could  not  sacri- 
fice such  an  animal  if  it  had  lost  more  than  a  third  of  its 
ears  or  tail/  now  that  the  animal  belongs  to  the   weli, 
his  responsibility  ends.      But  though   he  gave  it  to  the 
weli,  and   it  belongs  to  the  weli,  it  does  not  become  a 
sacrifice  until   he,  or  the  butcher,  throws  it  on  its  left 
side,  with  its  head  toward  Mecca,  if  he  be  a  Moslem,  or 
toward   Jerusalem,  if  he  be  a  Christian,  or  toward  the 
shrine  of  Mar  Jirjis,  if  he  sacrifices  to  St.  George  in  his 
own  village,  and  cuts  its  throat.      The  consummation  of 
the  sacrifice  is  in  the  outflow  of  blood.     The  feast  which 
follows  adds  nothing.      It  may  be  affirmed  with  emphasis 
that  to  the  large  majority  it  means  nothing  except  good 
cheer.      If  any   proof   were  wanting   in   support  of  this 
statement,  it  is  abundantly  furnished  by  the  fact  of  the 
great  dahhiych  sacrifices  in   the  Valley  of  Muna,  which 
were  adopted  by  Mohammed  from  the  heathen  rites  which 
attended  the  festival  at  Mecca.      Not  only  the  kissing  of 
the  sacred  stone  by  the  Moslems  at  the  Kaaba  is  a  primi- 
tive rite,  but  also  the  sacrifices.     At  the  Valley  of  Muna 
there  is  no  feast  whatever,  the  victims  are  buried,  or  the 
Arabs  are  permitted  to  come  and  take  them  away.*    It  is 

•  Hedaya,  London,  MDCCXCI.,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  79. 

_-Cf.  Burckhardt,  Travels  in  Arabia.  London,  1829,  p.  276: 
"The  act  of  sacrifice  itself  is  subject  to  no  otlier  ceremonies  than 
that  of  turning  the  victim's  face  towards  the  Kebly,  or  the  Kaaba, 
and  to  say,  during  the  act  of  cutting  its  throat,  '  in  the  name  of 
the  most  merciful  God  !     O  Supreme  God  !*....  Any  place  may 

(  \l)"!i^"  (""^  ''^^"^^  sacrifices,  which  are  performed  in  every  corner 
ot  Wady   Muna;  but  tlie  favorite  spot  is  a  smooth  rock  on  its 


224  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

clear,  with  respect  to  these  sacrifices,  that  the  sacrificial 
act  consists  in  the  outflow  of  the  blood  of  the  victims. 

It  may  not  be  so  easy  to  determine  the  value  of  the 
sacrifice.  Does  it  possess  in  any  degree  a  substitution- 
ary or  vicarious  character?  Let  us  pass  some  of  the  facts 
already  cited  in  review.  Such  a  sacrifice  is  at  least  thought 
to  insure  good  luck,  but  wherein  does  the  good  luck  con- 
sist? There  are  certain  facts  which  seem  to  point  towari 
a  substitutionary  value  in  sacrifice.  Such  are  the  for  • 
mulas,  already  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
employed  for  announcing  a  death  in  Syria  or  Palestine: 
"Abdullah  is  dead,  but  your  life  is  redeemed,"  or 
"Abdullah  is  dead,  may  God  give  you  his  life";  that  is, 
"You  have  a  better  chance  of  living  on  account  of  his 
death."  An  Arab  is  almost  broken-hearted  at  the  loss 
of  a  pet  mare,  whom  he  loves  more  than  his  wife,  but  a 
fellow  clansman  seeks  to  comfort  him  by  saying,  "Do 
not  mourn  for  her;  if  she  had  not  died,  Allah  might  have 
taken  your  life."  So,  if  a  beloved  son  is  cut  down  in 
the  flower  of  his  youth,  the  father  is  comforted  by  the 
same  assurance,  that,  had  his  son  not  died,  he  might  have 
lost  his  own  life.      This  is  clearly  a  substitutionary  idea. 

So,  too,  when  the  minister  of  the  "Chair"  at  Zebe- 
dani,   said,    "Every  house  must  have  its  death,   either 

western  extremity,  where  several  thousand  sheep  were  killed  in 
the  space  of  an  hour."  Burton,  Personal  Narrative  of  a  Pilgrim- 
age to  Al-Madinah  and  Mecca,  London,  MDCCCXCIIL,  Vol.  IL, 
p.  218:  "  It  is  considered  a  meritorious  act  to  give  away  the  victim 
without  eating  any  portion  of  its  flesh.  With  respect  to  sacri- 
fices slain  for  an  incomplete  performance  of  duty,  Burton  remarks, 
ibid.,  p.  140,  note  3:  "The  victim  is  sacrificed  as  a  confession  that 
the  offender  deems  himself  worthy  of  death:  the  offerer  is  not 
allowed  to  taste  any  portion  of  the  offering." 

Ahmed  Hindi  of  Damascus,  who  has  made  three  pilgrimages 
to  Mecca,  says:     "At  the  age  of  fifteen,  every  man  and  woman 

must  offer  a  sheep They  do  not  eat  the  sheep,  but  put  it 

in  a  hole  in  the  ground.  If  any  one  desires  to  eat  the  carcass  he 
may.    Journal  VIII. 


THE    SIGNIFICANCE   OF   SACRIFICE  225 

man,  woman,  child,  or  animal,"  it  is  evident  that  when 
the  owner  slaughters  an  animal  as  a  sacrifice  for  his 
house,  it  is  with  the  understanding  that  the  being  whom 
he  fears  will  now  spare  him  and  his  family,  because  he 
has  offered  it  up  a  subsitute  in  their  stead.  This  came 
out  clearly  when  a  Protestant,  Mr.  Jabur  in  the  Syrian 
Desert,  yielding  to  the  entreaties  of  his  neighbors, 
Moslems  as  well  as  Christians,  cut  the  throat  of  a  sheep 
at  the  entrance  of  his  house  to  secure  the  safety  of  his 
family.  The  thought  of  his  neighbors,  if  clearly 
expressed,  would  have  been,  "If  you  slay  a  sheep,  your 
family  will  be  safe;  if  you  do  not,  one  of  them  will 
be  in  danger."  Thus  the  sacrifice  which  is  offered 
when  a  bridal  couple  make  their  home  in  an  old  house, 
or  when  a  family  moves  from  one  house  to  another, 
has  really  a  substitutionary  character.  So,  too,  the 
people  of  Kerak,  when  they  occupy  a  cave  during  har- 
vest, insure  their  lives  by  killing  a  victim  who  takes  the 
place  of  all  of  them,  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  jinn  who  is 
landlord  of  the  cave.  Doughty  was  definitely  assured 
that  the  blood  of  an  animal  was  put  on  the  corner  of  a 
house,  which  was  building,  to  protect  the  workmen;' 
that  is,  the  animal  died  that  they  might  live.  It  was 
this  passage  which  I  found  in  Doughty^  a  year  ago  last 
summer  that  first  suggested  to  me  the  substitutionary 
character  of  such  sacrifices.  The  reader  may  well  ima- 
gine my  sensations  on  the  first  great  interview  which  I  had 
in  Syria  with  the  servant  of  the  "Chair,"  when  he 
announced,   "Every  house  must  have  its  death." 

Other  expressions  are  found  for  the  same  idea  of 
vicarious  sacrifice,  as  "head  for  head,"  "spirit  for 
spirit,"  where  the  head  of  an  animal,  or  its  spirit,  is  said  to 

'  Cf.  p.  191. 

*  Travels  in  Arabia  Deserta,  Cambridge,  1888,  p,  136. 


226  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

take  the  place  of  the  man,  woman,  child,  family,  or 
group  for  which  it  dies. 

One  of  the  most  thrilling  discoveries  was  in  regard  to 
the  existence  of  blood-sprinkling  at  the  present  day, 
upon  doors,  door-posts,  and  lintels.  I  do  not  claim  that 
this  was  an  original  discovery,  for  it  had  been  observed 
by  a  young  Englishwoman  in  the  Druse  Mountains,  who 
mentioned  her  observations  to  me;  and  such  a  case  is 
cited  by  Dr.  Trumbull,  as  seen  by  Dr.  Washburn,  of 
Robert  College,  Constantinople.  But  this  fact  has  been 
so  emphasized  by  the  number  and  range  of  my  personal 
investigations  as  to  have,  perhaps,  the  value  of  a  new 
discovery. 

Some  Bible  students  may  be  tempted  to  conclude  that 
in  this  custom  we  have  an  imitation  of  blood-sprinkling 
in  connection  with  the  institution  of  the  Passover  festi- 
val, when  the  destroying  angel  passed  by  the  houses  of 
the  Israelites.  At  first  blush,  this  would  seem  probable. 
But  I  am  confident  that  a  closer  view  of  the  subject,  a 
more  careful  weighing  of  the  facts,  will  show,  that  in  the 
institution  of  blood-sprinkling  we  have  a  primitive  Semitic 
custom  which  long  antedates  the  Passover  festival. 
The  use  of  blood  mentioned  in  Ezekiel,  where  the  priest 
is  to  take  the  blood  of  the  sin-offering  and  put  it  upon 
the  door-posts  of  the  house  (temple),  and  upon  the  four 
corners  of  the  ledge  of  the  altar,  and  upon  the  posts  of 
the  gate  of  the  inner  court,  resembles  the  usage  which 
we  find  to-day  among  Bedouin  who  never  came  into  con- 
tact with  the  Old  Testament.'  These  Arabs,  Bedouin, 
and  Fellahin,  who  are  so  little  influenced  by  Islam,  have 
evidently  not  derived  the  custom  from  that  faith ;  for  as 

'Palmer,  The  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  New  York,  1872,  p.  218: 
"We  saw  no  blood  upon  the  door-posts,  or  on  the  tomb  itself,  as  is 
usual  in  desert  welis;  but  the  reason  assigned  for  this  by  the  Arabs 


THE    SIGNIFICANCE    OF    SACRIFICE  22/ 

we  have  seen,  orthodox  Moslems  consider  such  a  use  of 
blood  highly  reprehensible.  Besides  we  have  noticed 
that  the  same  custom  existed  among  the  ancient  Baby- 
lonians.' 

What  is  the  object  of  putting  blood  on  the  doors  of 
private  houses?  In  the  case  of  the  Israelites,  it  was 
that,  when  the  destroying  angel  went  through  the  land 
of  Egypt  to  slay  the  first-born  of  the  Egyptians,  he  might 
spare  the  first-born  of  the  Israelites.  If  this  account 
were  to  be  translated  into  the  thought  and  terminology 
of  the  ignorant  modern  Semite,  the  destroying  angel 
would  be  an  "Afrit,"  such  as  the  people  of  Hamath,  after 
they  have  annually  repaired  their  largest  water-wheel, 
seek  t©  propitiate  by  causing  the  blood  of  a  victim  to 
run  down  into  the  sluice.^ 

At  Hamath,  as  we  have  learned,  the  Christians  in  the 
time  of  cholera  put  blood,  brought  from  the  slaughter- 
houses on  the  doors  of  their  houses  in  the  shape  of  a 
cross.  This  is  not  good  Semitic  usage,  because  the  blood 
was  not  that  of  victims.  But  it  is  founded  on  good 
Semitic  usage  because  it  represents  the  idea  that  blood 
is  the  all-important  thing  in  sacrifice,  and  that  there  are 
malignant  powers  of  the  air  who  must  be  placated,  and 
turned  away  by  the  sign  of  a  surrendered  life  in  substi- 
tute blood. 

It  is  more  difficult  to  understand  the  significance  of 
blood,  or  of  semn  and  henna,  placed  on  a  door-post  and 
lintels  of  a  shrine.  Perhaps  the  object  is  to  remind  the 
saint  of  the  blood  of  the  victim  that  has  been  slain.  It 
may  be  sprinkled  on  the  shrine  in  the  same  way  that  the 

was  that  on  the  occasion  of  sacrifice  they  placed  two  stones  by  the 
door  to  receive  the  blood,  and  that  these  are  afterwards  removed, 
in  order  that  the  tomb  may  be  kept  pure  and  clean." 

'P.  54.  n.  2.  2  P.  198. 


228  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC   RELIGION    TO-DAY 

ancient  Arab  was  said  to  have  smeared  blood  on  the 
sacred  stone  which  was  regarded  as  bet  Allah,  or  the  house 
of  God.' 

Whether  it  involves  the  idea  of  a  covenant  between 
the  one  bringing  the  sacrifice  and  the  saint,  as  a  Protes- 
tant deacon  suggested  to  Dr.  Henry  H.  Jessup,  in  con- 
nection with  the  shrine  at  Tell  Abu  en-Neda,  is  not  clear; 
it  may.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  when  blood  is 
sprinkled  on  the  sacred  stones  of  a  shrine,  and  upon 
those  who  bring  the  sacrifice,  we  have  an  ancient  Semitic 
parallel  with  the  conclusion  of  the  covenant  on  Mount 
Sinai,  where  Moses  sprinkled  part  of  the  sacrificial  blood 
on  the  altar  and  part  on  the  people. 

Whether  I  have  given  a  correct  interpretation  of  the 
facts  gathered,  the  student  must  decide.  It  seems  to  me, 
however,  that  these  facts  shed  much  light  on  the  true 
significance  of  sacrifice  as  a  primitive  Semitic  institution. 

'  W.  Robertson  Smith,  op.  cit.,  p.  184. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

THE   PLACE   OF   SACRIFICE,  AND   THE   ORIGINAL 

ALTAR' 

We  have  already  seen  that  there  is  no  evidence  among 
Syrians  and  Arabs  of  the  existence  of  burnt-offerings. 
Has  an  ancient  rite  faded  from  their  memory?  If  the 
position  taken  be  true  that  usage  now,  among  ignorant 
Syrians  and  among  Arabs,  is  likely  to  represent  primitive 
usage,  then  it  seems  probable,  as  has  been  observed  in  a 
preceding  chapter,  that  the  original  element  in  sacrifice 
was  not  its  consumption  by  fire,  but  in  its  being  pre- 
sented to  God,  and  if  it  were  an  animal,  in  its  blood  being 
shed. 

Let  us  approach  this  discussion  from  another  point  of 
view,  namely,  that  of  the  altar.  The  Biblical  student 
cannot  well  conceive  of  an  altar,  apart  from  incense,  or 
one  of  which  the  main  design  was  not  the  offering  up  of 
burnt-sacrifices  to  God.  There  are  also  well-attested 
examples  among  other  Semitic  peoples  of  altars  which 
were  used  millenniums  before  Christ  for  sacrifices  made 
by  fire.  We  might,  therefore,  be  tempted  to  conclude 
that  an  original  institution  had  perished  from  the  mem- 
ory of  the  modern  Semites,  on  finding  that  altars  for  fire- 
offerings  date  back  for  thousands  of  years  among  the 
Assyrians  and  other  peoples.  Yet  we  must  remember 
that  some  of  the  most  ancient  institutions  are  still  pre- 
served among  peoples  living  in  the  twentieth  century, 
but  who  have  been  unaffected  by  the  progress  of  the  ages 
in  their  social  and  religious  customs. 

■  Cf.    Appendix  F. 

329 


230         PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION  TO-DAY 

If,  as  we  seem  to  have  found,  primitive  sacrifice  con- 
sists wholly  in  the  shedding  of  blood,  the  place  where 
the  sacrifice  is  slain  becomes  simply  the  place  of  slaugh- 
tering, or  the  place  of  sacrifice.  This  conclusion  is 
confirmed  by  the  etymology  of  the  oldest  words  for 
altar,  both  in  Arabic  and  Hebrew.  We  may  be  sure 
that  in  the  form  of  these  words  we  shall  get  the  primi- 
tive idea. 

As  all  Semitic  scholars  are  aware,  there  is  a  large 
class  of  nouns  formed  by  prefixing  the  letter  m  to  the 
verbal  root.  Such  nouns  signify,  either  the  place  where 
a  thing  is  done,  the  instrument  by  which  it  is  done,  or 
the  embodiment  of  the  action.  The  verbal  root  in  Arabic 
which  signifies  "to  sacrifice,"  is  dhabaha.  Lane  renders 
this:*  "He  slaughtered  [for  food,  or  sacrificed]  an  animal, 
or  a  sheep,  or  a  goat,  or  an  ox,  or  a  cow  in  the  manner 
prescribed  by  the  law,  [that  is  by  cutting  the  two  external 
jugular  veins]  or  by  cutting  the  throat  from  beneath  at 
the  part  next  the  head  ....  dhabaha  anhu^  he  slaugh- 
tered or  sacrificed  for  him  by  way  of  expiation."  The 
word  dhibh  signifies  an  animal  prepared  for  slaughter 
or  sacrifice;  that  is,  an  intended  victim  ....  for 
example,  it  is  said  in  the  Koran,  xxxvii.  107,  'And  we 
ransomed  him  with  a  great  victim'  ";  that  is,  Abraham. 
Remembering  that  a  noun  formed  by  prefixing  m  may 
mean  the  place  where  a  thing  is  done  madhbah  signifies, 
"A  place  where  victims  are  immolated;  altar,  slaughter- 
house."^ As  will  be  seen,  there  is  no  hint  in  this  expres- 
sion of  burnt-offerings,  nor  in  another  derivative  tnidhbah, 
(slaughtering-knife).  On  the  other  hand,  the  etymology 
of  the  word  madhbah  bears  unequivocal  testimony  to  the 

'  Arabic-Eng,lish  Lexicon,  sub  voce. 

2  Wortabet  and  Porter,  Arabic-English  Dictionary,  Beyrout, 
1893,  sub  voce. 


THE    PLACE   OF   SACRIFICE  23  I 

fact,  that  slaughtering  an  animal  by  the  shedding  of  blood 
was  the  primitive  idea  of  sacrifice. 

Let  us  examine  the  Hebrew  verb  signifying  "to  sacri- 
fice," zaba/i,  which  is  almost  identical  with  the  modern 
Egyptian  pronunciation  of  dhabah  as  zabh.  This  word, 
too,  means  originally  to  slaughter,  and  viizbeah  also 
"place  of  sacrifice";  so  in  Biblical  kxdCKi^xc  tnadhbah^ 
"altar,"  comes  from  debah^  which  signifies  "to  slaughter" 
and  then  "to  sacrifice." 

Where  were  such  sacrifices  offered?  Evidently  in 
connection  with  some  habitation,  either  of  God  or  man. 
Among  the  Bedouin  such  a  habitation  is  a  tent,  even 
when  they  term  it  house  {bet)^  and  describe  the  pitching 
of  the  tent  by  their  women  as  the  building  of  a  house. 
The  entrance  of  such  a  tent  is  on  the  east.  As  an  emir 
testified,  "Ever  since  God  {Allah)  created  the  Arabs,  the 
east  has  been  the  front  of  the  tent."  Here,  then,  is  the 
proper  place  to  slay  the  animal. 

But  if  possible,  many  sacrifices  should  be  taken  to  some 
shrine.  If  the  saint  or  weli  is  conceived  of  as  residing 
in  a  sacred  tree,  or  as  revealing  himself  there,  then  at 
that  tree  would  be  the  place  of  slaughtering;  if  he  is  at 
a  gigantic  grave  under  the  open  heavens,  plastered  over, 
or  in  the  ordinary  Moslem  grave  covered  with  stones,  and 
with  gravestones  at  the  head  and  feet,  and  in  both  cases 
surrounded  with  a  low  wall,  then  outside  such  a  shrine 
would  be  the  place  of  sacrifice.  If  in  a  fountain,  as  at 
Ain  Fowar,  or  at  Zerka  Main,  the  victims  are  to  be 
brought  to  the  place.  If  the  weli  is  thought  of  as  in  the 
little  building,  usually  with  a  dome,  known  as  a  makam, 
mezar,  zcyarch,  or  by  whatever  other  name,  the  victim 
should  be  slain  at  the  building. 

But  where  is  the  place  of  sacrifice?  Some  say  any- 
where in  the  court,  around  which  houses  are  built,  but  it 


232  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC   RELIGION   TO-DAY 

is  clear  that  correct  usage  among  Bedouin  and  Syrians 
places  it  at  the  entrance.  There  are  some  definite  testi- 
monies with  respect  to  this. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  sacrifices  offered  to  the  jinn  or 
the  well  of  a  cave  are  at  the  entrance.'  It  is  there  that 
the  blood  falls.  The  east  side,  or  entrance  of  a  tent,  is 
the  proper  place  for  sacrifice.  Occasional  sacrifices,  in 
payment  of  vows,  brought  to  Nebi  Daud  in  Jerusalem  are 
slain  either  before  the  doorstep  of  the  court,  or  before 
one  of  the  doorsteps  of  the  dwellings  inside  the  court. 
The  late  Rev.  John  Zeller,  of  Jerusalem,  relates  that  he 
saw  the  blood  of  the  victims  killed  at  the  feasts  of  circum- 
cision before  the  doors  of  Nebi  Musa  near  the  Dead  Sea. 

Abdu  Khahil,  the  head  native  master  of  the  Boys' 
School  in  connection  with  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Mission 
at  Damascus,  says:  "It  is  common  to  kill  a  sacrifice  at 
the  threshold."  Musa  Khuri  has  twice  seen  in  Rasheya, 
once  among  the  Greek  Catholics  and  once  among  Syriac 
Catholics,  a  lamb  slaughtered  over  the  doorstep  as  fedou. 
They  believe  that  if  they  build  a  new  house  and  neglect 
to  do  this  some  one  of  the  family  will  die. 

Mrs.  Dale,  daughter  of  President  Bliss,  of  the  Syrian 
Protestant  College,  Beirut,  saw  a  sheep  killed  among  the 
Greek  Catholics  at  Ras  Baalbek.  They  cut  its  throat  on 
the  doorstep  and  they  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  in 
blood  over  the  door. 

There  are  many  examples  of  the  threshold  as  the  place 
where  the  sacrifice  is  slain.  We  have  already  passed  the 
various  kinds  of  sacrifices  in  review.  The  one  for  the 
pilgrim  who  returns  from  Mecca,  or  from  Jerusalem,  or 
for  a  soldier,  or  prisoner,  who  comes  back  to  his  home, 
is  on  the  threshold  of  the  entrance  to  that  home.  There 
the  butcher  cuts  the  throat  of  the  victim. 

'  P.  184. 


THE    PLACE   OF   SACRIFICE  233 

The  following  incident,  related  to  me  in  Horns,  with 
reference  to  the  use  of  a  threshold  in  sacrifice,  seems 
most  significant  in  this  connection:  "If  a  man  has  bought 
a  new  house,  and  the  inhabitants  have  been  unlucky, 
that  is,  have  had  ill  health  or  death,  before  moving  into 
the  house,  the  owner  makes  some  change,  and  offers  a 
sacrifice.  The  change  usually  consists  in  taking  up  the 
old  stone  on  the  threshold  and  laying  a  new  one  in  its 
place.  Then  the  sacrifice  is  offered  on  that  threshold. 
They  call  it  presenting  a  keffareh^  in  order  that  no  evil 
may  befall  them." 

So  when  the  sacrifice  is  made  for  a  new  house,  a  simi- 
lar ceremony  is  observed.  This  is  the  custom  in  northern 
Syria  and  the  Syrian  Desert.  At  Kerak,  and  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Dead  Sea,  the  victim  is  taken  upon  the  flat 
roof  and  its  throat  is  cut  so  that  the  blood  runs  down 
over  the  lintel. 

Among  Moslems  and  the  so-called  sects  of  Islam,  as 
Nusairiyeh,  Ismailiyeh,  and  Druses,  it  is  common  to 
immolate  victims  on  the  doorsteps  of  shrines.  The  same 
custom  is  to  be  found  among  the  Christians,  including 
the  various  sects,  such  as  Copts,  Jacobites,  and  others. 
At  a  wedding  among  Syrian  members  of  a  Greek  Church 
in  New  York  City,  a  sheep  was  sacrificed  in  the  street, 
probably  before  the  door  of  the  house  which  was  to  be 
the  home  of  the  bridal  pair,  in  the  month  of  November, 
1 90 1. 

In  this  connection  Dr.  Henry  Clay  Trumbull's  learned 
monograph.  The  Threshold  Covenant,  is  of  great  value. 
There  can  be  no  question  that  the  sacrifice  at  the 
entrance  of  a  tent,  a  cave,  or  at  the  threshold  of  a  house, 
represents  primitive  Semitic  usage,  and  that  this  is  the 
place  of  sacrifice,  so  far  as  that  term  means  the  place  of 
immolation,  or  the  pouring  forth  of  blood.      It  may  also 


234  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

be  considered  the  original  altar,  so  far  as  we  understand 
by  that  term  the  place  where  the  blood  of  the  victim  is 
poured  out.  I  have  seen  conspicuous  examples  of  this 
usage  in  the  Druse  Mountains  and  in  other  places. 

The  next  step  in  the  use  of  an  altar  is  in  the  employ- 
ment of  a  rude  stone  upon  which  the  victims  are  slain. 
Such  was  the  place  where  the  sacrificial  blood  fell,  when 
the  Israelites  slaughtered  sheep  and  oxen  after  their  vic- 
tory over  the  Philistines  between  Michmash  and  Ajalon.' 
We  should  also  remember  in  this  connection  that  the 
favorite  place  at  which  the  Moslems  slaughter  their  vic- 
tims in  the  Valley  of  Muna,  is  on  a  smooth  rock,  which 
may  be  regarded  as  a  rude  altar.^ 

It  is  reported  that  such  rude  stone  altars  are  still  used 
among  the  Arabs.  The  Rev.  James  B.  Nies,  Ph.D.,  of 
Brooklyn,  New  York,  saw  such  an  altar  at  Yazuz,  in  the 
land  of  Gilead,  under  a  sacred  terebinth  tree.  It  is  a 
rectangular  stone,  from  an  old  Roman  ruin,  about  three 
feet  long  by  two  feet  wide,  and  about  two  feet  high,  with 
cup-holes  and  channels  for  blood,  which  were  probably 
cut  by  the  Arabs. 

There  is  an  Arab  graveyard  near  the  sacred  trees. 
Here,  then,  is  a  most  interesting  combination  of  sacred 
trees,  and  probably,  if  the  truth  could  be  learned  from  the 
Arabs,  a  grave  where  repose  the  mortal  remains  of  a  weli, 
the  saint  of  a  clan,  and  a  stone  used  as  an  altar  for  the 
victims  immolated  upon  it. 

Dr.  Nies  also  points  out  another  illustration  of  a  sacri- 
ficial stone  in  a  demi-dolmen,  which  is  thus  described  by 
Major  Conder:^  "The  cap-stone  measures  thirteen  feet 
east  and  west  by  eleven  feet  north  and  south,  and  the 
mean  thickness  is  about  twenty  inches.     A  curious  sys- 

1  I  Sam.  xiv,  33-34.  ^  P.  223,  n.  2. 

3  The  Survey  of  Eastern  Palestine,  London,  1889,  Vol.  I.,  p.  20. 


DOLMEN    ALTAK,   WITH    HOKLOWS    KOK    HI.OOD. 
AFTKK    MAJOR    CONOER. 


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THE    PLACE   OF   SACRIFICE  235 

tern  of  channels  and  hollows  was  noticed  in  the  cap- 
stone  Near  the  middle  of  the  stone  is  a  hollow 

twenty-six  inches  by  twenty  inches  and  twelve  inches 
deep.  Near  the  west  end,  which  is  the  highest,  is  a 
hollow  one  foot  square."  The  channels  connecting 
these  hollows  can  be  traced  from  the  diagram.  Dr.  Nies 
sees  in  the  hollows  on  the  cap-stone  of  the  dolmen  arti- 
ficial depressions  made  by  Arabs  in  order  to  receive  the 
blood  of  their  sacrifices.  He  says  that  the  Gizeh  Mu- 
seum, in  Cairo,  affords  hundreds  of  altars  for  the  immo- 
lation of  victims,  having  on  the  upper  surface  round  and 
square  holes  for  receiving  the  blood. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  confirmation  of  the  use 
of  a  rock  as  the  place  of  sacrifice  among  the  Bedouin  is 
found  in  a  communication  from  Dr.  Schumacher,  of 
Haifa.' 

A  conspicuous  example  may  be  found  in  the  high 
place  at  Petra,  which  I  described  in  the  Quarterly  State- 

•  Haifa,  30th  January,  1902.  My  Dear  Professor  Curtiss — 
Your  letter  of  the  4th  inst.  was  just  received,  and  I  hasten  to  reply 
to  it,  briefly,  as  I  am  to  start  for  a  journey  to  the  interior  and  begin 
archsological  excavations  at  Taanach  and  Megiddo. 

1.  I  do  not  know  of  any  rock  altars  used  by  the  Bedouin,  but 
of  ancient  columns  and  similar  large  stones,  and  have  come  across 
some  at  El-Hawi  near  Ras  Birkish  in  Ajlun,  also  near  Beisan  at 
the  shrine  of  El-Halaby;  at  Shejarat  el-Arrifije  ("the  tree  of  the 
sorceress"  vid.  my  Northern  Ajlun  p.  106),  also  in  Ajlun  and  in 
other  places  across  the  Jordan. 

2.  They  are  nearly  all  in  connection  with 
sacred  trees  and  shrines. 

3.  The  stones  are  hollowed  on  the  top  and 
have  circular  holes  of  3  inches  to  6  inches  diameter 
and  2  to  4  inches  depth. 

4.  The  character  of  such  "altar"  holes  is  for 
the  reception  of  blood.  I  have  been  present  at 
several  snnilar  [sacrificial]  ceremonies  of  the  Bedouin.  In  order 
to  fulfil  a  vow,  the  family  members  of  a  tribe  ....  gather  at  a 
shrine  under  a  tree;  a  sheep  or  a  goat  is  brought  thither,  the 
khatib  or  priest  lays  it  across  the  "  altar,"  with  the  body  on  the 
stone   and  the  head  and    neck    hanging   down.    Then   with  the 


236  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

merit  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  for  October, 
1900. 

There  seems  to  be  a  combination  in  this  illustration 
of  the  altar  of  burnt-sacrifice  and  a  table  or  altar  for 
slaying  victims.  The  latter  is  eleven  feet  nine  inches 
long  from  north  to  south,  sixteen  feet  six  inches  wide, 
and  is  ascended  by  four  steps  in  the  northeast  corner. 

On  the  top  of  the  platform  is  a  remarkable  and  sug- 
gestive feature  with  reference  to  its  probable  use  in  the 
preparation  of  victims  for  the  sacrificial  fire.  This  con- 
sists in  two  circular  and  concentric  pans  with  vertical 
sides,  cut  out  of  the  rock,  with  a  conduit  leading  from 
the  lower  pan  which  may  have  served  to  carry  away  the 
blood  of  the  victim.  The  larger  pan  is  three  feet  eight 
inches  in  diameter,  its  depth  is  three  inches;  the  second 
or  lower  pan  is  one  foot  five  inches  in  diameter,  its  depth 
is  two  inches.  The  conduit  is  three  feet  two  inches  long, 
two  inches  wide,  and  three  inches  deep.  This  platform 
corresponds  to  the  simple  altar  of  the  Arabs,  as  described 
by  Dr.  Nies  and  Dr.  Schumacher,  and  is  combined  with 
the  altar  of  burnt-sacrifice,  which  arose  in  the  develop- 
ment of  worship  at  a  much  later  period.     We  have  a  sim- 

words:  bismillah,  rahnian,  er-rahim*  (in  the  name  of  God  the 
merciful  of  the  merciful)  he  cuts  the  throat  of  the  animal  with 
a  knife,  and  the  Bedouin  gather  the  blood  and  sprinkle  it  over 
the  grave  of  the  Muhammedan  saint  buried  at  the  shrine  which 
is  near  by.  In  doing  so  they  call  the  dead  saint  to  witness  that 
they  have  fulfilled  this  vow.  The  animal  is  cooked  afterwards 
and  eaten. 

The  sprinkling  is  generally  done  with  a  tassel  made  of  goat 
hair,  which  is  hung  over  the  shrine  after  the  ceremony  is  over. 
The  graves  of  saints  or  shrines  are  therefore  generally  covered 
with  blood  .  .  .  .  N.  B.  I  find  in  my  notes  on  northern  Ajlun  that 
the  Shejarat  el-Arrifije  (or  Shejarat  Barakat  or  Baruka)  may  be  a 
rock  altar.  The  spot  is  greatly  venerated  by  the  Bedouin  and 
Fellahin  of  the  district.  The  place,  a  heap  of  ruins,  and  rude, 
large  stones  is,  however,  considered  a  shrine 

*This,of  course,  differs  from  the  formula  in  the  Koran,  C. 


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(ir.NKKAI.    I'l.AN    OK    IIKIII    11. ACT.    AND    AI.TAH    AT    I'ETRA. 


ANCIENT  PLACE  FOR  SLAUGHTERING  SACRIFICE  AT  PETRA. 
AFTER  PROFESSOR  GEORGE  L.  ROHIXSON. 


Note.— The  observation  of  the  High-Place  and  Altar  at  Petra  by  Professor 
George  L.  Robinson,  in  the  spring  of  igoo,  has  all  the  value  of  a  new  discovery. 
The  place,  though  seen  and  partially  described  by  Mr.  F:d\vard  L.  Wilson,  an 
American,  in  his  Scrii'TUke  Lan'DS.  London,  1891,  p.  104.  remained  unrecognized 
bvthe  learned  world,  until  Dr.  Robinson  found  it,  as  he  thought,  for  the  hrst  lime. 
The  writer  keenlv  regrets,  that  through  misinformation  as  to  the  thoroughness  of 
Dr.  Robinson's  researches,  he  should  have  anticipated  him  in  the  pages  of  tlie 
yuarterlv  Statement  in  the  announcement  and  description  of  a  hud  which  is  one 
of  the  most  important  made  for  the  history  of  SLiMiti(-  worship  dming  the 
nineteenth  centurv. 


THE    PLACE   OF   SACRIFICE  237 

ilar  combination  in  Ezekiel,  where,  in  the  description  of 
the  temple,  eight  tables  are  mentioned  as  used  especially 
for  the  slaughter  of  the  victims,  and  four  tables  of  hewn 
stone  for  the  reception  of  the  burnt-offerings.' 

When  we  consider  all  these  examples  together,  it  is 
easy  to  trace  sacrifice  back  to  a  time  when  it  consisted 
chiefly  in  shedding  the  blood  of  the  victim.  It  was  slain 
at  the  entrance  to  the  tent,  or  cave  of  the  earliest 
Semites;  and  later,  when  they  lived  in  houses,  on  the 
threshold;  and  still  later,  on  a  rock  where,  like  the 
Arabs  to-day,  they  hollowed  out  places  to  receive 
the  blood. 

'  Ezek.  xi.  39-43. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

CONCLUSION 

There  are  three  views  which  may  be  held  with  refer- 
ence to  the  origin  of  Israel's  religion,  as  set  forth  in  the 
Old  Testament.  One  is  that  of  the  naturalistic  inter- 
preter, who  conceives  that  we  have  in  it  simply  the  record 
of  a  human  development,  from  which  the  idea  of  God  is 
excluded,  except  as  God  may  be  conceived  of  as  being 
in  all  things. 

Another  is  that  of  those  who  may  be  designated  as 
traditionalists,  for  lack  of  a  better  name,  who  conceive 
of  the  worship  of  ancient  Israel  as  instituted  by  God 
himself  on  new  foundations.  This  view  is  favored,  as 
the  critics  affirm,  by  the  historian  of  the  Priests'   Code. 

A  third  view  recognizes  the  fact  that  the  religious 
institutions  of  ancient  Israel,  at  their  beginning,  are  an 
outgrowth  of  those  of  the  primitive  Semites,  yet  not 
merely  through  natural  development,  but  through  the 
power  of  God's  Spirit  coworking  with  men. 

Let  us  examine  each  of  these  views  a  little  more  in 
detail.  The  first  adopts  the  principle  of  natural  develop- 
ment, of  an  advance  from  the  most  rudimentary  religious 
conceptions  of  God  and  man,  and  their  relations  to  each 
other,  to  those  which  are  complex  and  spiritual.  I  think 
no  student  who  weighs  the  evidence  can  question  the 
fact  of  development  in  the  religion  of  Israel  from  ele- 
mentary ideas,  such  as  are  characteristic  of  the  childhood 
of  the  race,  to  those  which  we  find  in  the  most  spiritual 
utterances  of  prophets  and  psalmists.  This  fact  can  be 
as  truly  demonstrated  as  the   development  of  the  eagle 

238 


CONCLUSION  239 

from  the  egg,  and  the  egg  from  the  parent  germ,  or  of 
the  mighty  oak  from  the  acorn.  None  who  admits  the 
facts  can  dispute  such  a  conclusion.  But  among  the 
modern,  as  well  as  among  the  primitive  Semites,  the  egg 
stage,  or  that  of  the  eaglet  which  has  just  picked  its  way 
out  of  the  shell,  has  not  been  passed;  the  mighty  oak 
has  not  got  beyond  the  acorn,  or  the  tiny  plant  which 
the  goat,  the  enemy  of  all  forests,  can  crop  off.  This, 
as  we  have  seen,  is  the  case  among  Arabs,  Bedouin,  and 
Syrians  whose  lives  have  not  been  affected  by  positive 
religion.  Whenever  positive  religion  has  come  in  from 
without,  there  has  been  a  change.  Mohammed  saw  and 
promulgated  the  great  idea  of  "no  god,  but  God."  But 
he  did  not  arrive  at  this  idea  through  any  natural  evolu- 
tion. The  Arabs  from  whom  he  sprang  were  where  the 
Arabs  had  been  for  millenniums  before  him,  who,  while 
recognizing  God  as  the  author  of  all  things,  were  adher- 
ents of  the  most  superstitious  rites.  There  is  not  the 
slightest  evidence  that  Mohammed  rose  on  the  shoulders 
of  an  Arab  religion  which  had  been  climbing  during  the 
millenniums  to  a  grand  conception  of  God. 

While  he  developed  individually,  his  coreligionists 
still  remained  in  their  old  heathenism,  and  had  not  fur- 
nished the  soil  for  his  development.  Though  his  mind 
rose  to  a  worthy  conception  of  God,  he  was  still  in  the 
grip  of  ancient  Semitism,  in  the  lust  of  beauty  which  he 
inculcated  as  a  means  of  sensual  indulgence,  and  the  lust 
of  conquest  by  which  he  sought  to  win  and  hold  the 
Arabs.  Besides,  his  rejection  of  the  revelation  of  the 
Father  through  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son,  made  the  doctrine 
of  the  mediation  of  the  saints,  and  a  practical  deification 
of  them,  a  necessity.  Islam  is  in  no  sense  the  product 
of  a  development  from  ancient  Semitism.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  is  still  fettered  by  a  compromise  with  old  heathen- 


240  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

ism,  by  the  adoption  of  the  ancient  rites  at  its  pilgrim 
festival,  and  kissing  of  the  stone  at  the  Kaaba.  It  is 
bound  by  fate;  it  presents  no  worthy  aim  in  life;  woman's 
face  is  veiled  that  man  may  not  lust  after  the  beauty  of 
his  neighbor's  wife;  continence  is  secured  through 
license,  which  is  legalized  immorality;  the  zeal  of  the 
faithful  is  stimulated  by  prospects  of  plunder;  converts 
are  made  by  the  sword  ;  and  paradise  consists  of  a  garden 
of  sensual  delights.  This  the  mass  of  Moslems  believe, 
and  have  no  place  for  the  spiritual  joys  of  the  Christian 
heaven.  We  may  therefore  affirm  with  emphasis,  that 
Islam,  in  its  doctrine  of  God,  is  not  a  natural  develop- 
ment from  Semitism.  Its  noblest  teachings  have  come 
from  Judaism  and  Christianity.  Mohammed  was  not 
the  product  of  his  own  people.  Indeed,  the  old  Semi- 
tism had  power  to  fetter  him  and  his  teaching  in  the 
observance  of  their  low  standard  of  morality;  and  by  the 
tyranny  of  unchanging  custom  to  confine  Islam  in  a  prison 
house,  whence  there  is  no  hope  of  release.  Usage,  then, 
which  is  like  a  law  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  that  cannot 
change,  has  stopped  all  moral  and  religious  progress  in 
the  Moslem  world. 

No  one  will,  of  course,  presume  to  say  that  Chris- 
tianity is  a  natural  evolution  from  ancient  Semitism.  The 
facts  are  too  patent  to  admit  of  such  a  supposition.  It 
was  because  Christianity  had  become  so  corrupted  and 
debased  in  the  ancient  Syrian  world,  originally  beginning 
as  a  pure  institution,  that  Islam,  as  in  some  respects  a 
superior  faith,  was  able  to  choke  it  out. 

If  any  proposition  can  admit  of  an  easy  demonstra- 
tion, it  is  that  those  characteristics  which  are  noblest 
and  best  in  these  systems,  are  not  a  natural  evolution  from 
the  Semitic  mind.  Semitic  custom,  through  the  compro- 
mises which  it  demanded  of  Islam,  on  behalf  of  heathen- 


CONCLUSION  241 

ism,  sensuality,  and  the  love  of  plunder,  has  left  its  brand 
upon  the  Moslem  religion.  Semitism  has  been  able  to 
say  to  Islam,  "Thus  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no  farther." 
Semitism,  so  far  from  producing  Christianity,  was  able 
to  devitalize  it,  to  bring  its  adherents  under  the  influence 
of  the  superstitions  of  heathenism. 

The  theory  of  the  traditionalist,  that  the  teachings  of 
the  Old  Testament  are  new  revelations  direct  from  God, 
without  relation  to  past  customs  and  institutions,  is  not 
borne  out  by  facts.  While  it  is  often  man's  method  to 
break  entirely  with  the  past,  even  in  innocent  habits 
and  modes  of  thought,  and  missionaries  in  the  earlier 
years  are  said  to  have  illustrated  this  method,  some  at 
times  teaching  converts  from  the  historic  churches  that  it 
was  wrong  to  observe  Christmas  and  Easter,  or  any  other 
saint's  days,  or  to  sing  any  of  the  old  songs,  or  to  main- 
tain any  of  the  old  customs;  a  study  of  the  Bible  shows 
that  this  is  not  God's  method. 

We  are  thus  borne  on  by  a  consideration  of  the  facts 
of  primitive  Semitic  religion  to  the  third  theory  that  the 
most  spiritual  conceptions  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments have  been  gradually  evolved  from  ancient  Semitic 
conceptions  under  the  guiding  and  controlling  power  of 
God.  God  must  be  predicated  as  a  factor  in  this  evolu- 
tion, if  we  take  into  account  the  fact  that  among  no 
branch  of  the  Semitic  peoples,  if  we  count  out  ancient 
Israel,  have  they  been  able  to  rise  to  spiritual  concep- 
tions of  deity  and  worthy  ideas  of  morality. 

Men  who  had  the  problem  to  deal  with  which  was 
present  to  God  when  he  decided  to  lead  a  people  out 
from  the  bondage  of  Semitic  ignorance  and  superstition, 
would  have  said,  "Let  us  break  completely  with  the  past, 
let  us  introduce  a  new  order  which  is  radically  different 
from    the   old."     Not  so   God,   in   his  wisdom.     As  we 


242  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

have  seen,  men  had  certain  conceptions  of  him  as  a 
superhuman  man.  These  he  did  not  reject,  though  so 
imperfect  and  unworthy.  He  adopted  these  conceptions 
as  a  medium  of  instruction,  and  so  we  find  the  Jehovist 
treating  of  God  as  if  he  were  a  man,  with  something  of  a 
man's  imperfections,  but  presenting  a  higher  ideal  than 
that  of  the  unaided,  uninstructed  mind.  This,  however, 
is  the  lowest  stage  of  the  Old  Testament  representation 
of  God.  It  rises  constantly  higher  through  the  psalmists 
and  prophets,  through  conceptions  of  Canaan  as  Jehovah's 
land,  and  Jehovah  as  Israel's  God,  and  the  Temple  as 
his  abode,  to  the  conception  of  the  God  of  all  the  earth, 
"who  does  not  dwell  in  temples  made  with  hands," 
"whom  the  heaven  of  heavens  cannot  contain."  For 
this  view,  there  were  powerful  political  reasons  in  the 
experiences  of  the  Babylonian  exile.  The  exile  destroyed, 
for  the  Israelites,  the  conception  of  God  as  confined  to 
one  land,  to  one  city,  to  one  temple,  or  to  one  people. 
While  there  had  been  foregleams  of  the  great  truth  that 
God  is  the  God  of  all  the  earth,  the  death  of  the  nation's 
hopes  was  needed,  in  order  to  instill  such  lessons  as  we 
find  in  the  second  part  of  Isaiah,  as  to  mission  of  the 
Servant  Israel  to  all  the  nations,  and  that  the  same  God 
is  immanent  among  all  nations,  as  well  as  in  Israel,  and 
at  the  same  time  transcendent  above  them. 

We  have  seen  how  easily  the  Semite  deifies  men, 
makes  the  saint  his  mediator,  and  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses his  god.  I  have  shown  in  another  place  how  there 
is  nothing  startling  to  his  mind  in  the  physical  father- 
hood of  deity,  that  a  mortal  woman  may  have  a  divine 
husband.  Hence  there  was  a  prepared  people,  in  these 
original  and  natural  ideas,  for  the  mystery  of  the  incar- 
nation, which  to  them  was  no  mystery.  That  Jesus 
should  be  begotten  by  the  Holy  Spirit  through  the  Virgin 


CONCLUSION  243 

Mary  as  son  of  man,  and  Son  of  God,  was  no  surprise  to 
the  Semitic  mind,  still  believing  in  the  possibility  of  such 
a  connection  even  to  the  point  of  credulity. 

Then  such  a  personal  appearance  of  God  among  men 
satisfied  the  longing  of  the  Semitic  mind,  and  a  longing 
which  we  find  among  other  minds.  God  seems  so  far 
away,  so  indifferent,  to  the  simple  Semite  to-day,  that 
he  feels  the  need  of  a  saint  near  at  hand  to  whom  he  can 
utter  his  vows  and  prayers  in  his  extremity.  Here,  then, 
was  a  natural  basis  for  the  doctrine  of  the  incarnation  as 
we  find  in  the  New  Testament. 

We  have  seen  how  crude  was  the  original  conception 
of  sin,  as  equivalent  to  misfortune,  visited  by  an  arbitrary 
and  capricious  despot.  This  view  is  not  absent,  as  we  have 
observed,  from  the  Old  Testament.  During  the  period 
of  the  judges  men  are  continually  falling  away  into  idola- 
try; misfortune  comes  upon  them  through  the  heavy 
hands  of  the  Philistines,  for  a  time  there  is  an  external 
reformation,  and  then  they  fall  back  again.  There  is  no 
real  consciousness  of  guilt.  God  takes  this  rudimen- 
tary conception ;  he  does  not  at  first  attempt  a  radical 
change  in  this  thought,  but  he  works  constantly  through 
lawgivers,  prophets,  and  psalmists,  until  men  see  the 
exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin,  before  misfortune  has  struck 
them  down,  so  that  David  could  cry: 

"Against  thee,  thee  only,  have  I  sinned,' 
"And  done  that  which  is  evil  in  thy  sight." 

And  under  the  visitation  of  God's  judgment,  and  his 
rebukes.   Job   no  longer   saw  the   hand   of  a  capricious 

'  Ps.  11.  4.  It  seems  to  me  that  psycholotjically  this  Psalm  fits 
David's  experience  after  his  sin  with  Bathsheba,  and  his  murder 
of  Uriali.  The  last  two  verses  could  not  well  have  been  from  his 
hand,  and  were  doubtless  added  at  a  much  later  period.  Such  ad- 
ditions were  almost  as  common  in  ancient  psalmody  as  in  modern 
hymnology. 


244  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

tyrant,  as  was  once  the  case/  but  had  such  spiritual  views 
of  Him  as  to  say ; 

"  I  had  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear;  ^ 

"But  now  mine  eye  seeth  thee, 

"  Wherefore  I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes." 

Men  see  visions  of  God,  lilce  Isaiah,  so  that  they  are 
led  to  exclaim: 

"Woe  is  me!  for  I  am  undone;' 

"  Because  I  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips, 

"And  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  people  of  unclean  lips; 

"  For  mine  eyes  have  seen  the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts." 

There  are  indeed  other  cries  in  the  Semitic  world,  as 
we  see  from  the  Babylonian  Penitential  Psalms,*  which 
indicate  a  consciousness  of  sin,  on  the  part  of  a  few  select 
souls,  far  deeper  than  anything  we  find  in  primitive 
Semitism. 

But  the  Babylonian  worshiper  is  still  fettered  by  the 
conception  that  sin  and  misfortune  are  one;  that  since 
the  heavenly  powers  are  very  angry  his  sins  must  be  very 
great.  He  has  indeed  reached  a  higher  stage  of  develop- 
ment than  we  find  among  Bedouin,  Arabs,  and  Fellahin,  so 
far  as  these  researches  have  extended.  There  does  not 
seem  to  have  arisen  anywhere  in  the  world  a  conscious- 
ness of  sin  as  guilt,  without  the  revealing  power  of  God's 
Spirit. 

Again,  the  original  idea  of  sacrifice  seems  to  be  one 
derived  from  experience  in  the  East,  if  not  in  the  West, 
that  "every  man  has  his  price."  Hence  the  gods  have 
their  price.      If  God  has  brought  misfortune  upon  man, 

ijob.ix.  30,31. 

''Job.  xlii.  5. 

*  Is.  vi.  5. 

*Zimmern,  Babylonische  Busspsalmen,  Leipzig,  1885,  pp.  61  £f. 


CONCLUSION  245 

he  can  be  bought  off;  if  he  demands  a  human  life,  the 
price  may  be  paid  through  a  substitute;  if  the  price  is 
the  "bursting  forth  of  blood  before  the  face  of  God," 
then  the  blood  of  sheep,  goat,  bullock,  or  camel,  the 
best  that  a  man  has  of  animal  life,  may  avert  the  misfor- 
tune and  cover  the  sin.  This  is  indeed  a  crude  idea. 
There  are  many  stages  between  it  and  that  contained  in 
the  musings  of  penitent  Israel  concerning  the  vicarious 
sufferings  of  the  Servant,  which  strike  through  every 
Christian  heart  with  love  and  sorrow,  so  that  we  read 
them  with  the  same  solemn  hush,  and  sometimes  with 
falling  tears,  as  if  we  stood  with  Mary  and  John  beneath 
the  cross  of  Him  who  bore  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on 
the  tree,  and  whose  Christian  interpretation  has  broken 
some  Jewish  hearts: 

"  All  we,  like  sheep,  have  gone  astray,^ 
We  have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way. 
And  Jehovah  hath  made  to  light  on  Him,  the  iniquity  of  us  all." 

It  is  not  natural  development  which  leads  up  from  the 
most  rudimentary  conceptions  of  sin  as  misfortune,  and 
sacrifice  as  a  gift  or  substitute  offered  to  a  capricious 
tyrant,  to  those  conceptions  which  we  have  in  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  Servant,  or  to  a  conception  which  we 
find  centuries  before  in  Hosea.  ^ 

"  How  can  I  give  thee  up,  Ephraim? 
How  can  I  deliver  thee  up,  Israel? 
How  can  I  make  thee  as  Admah? 
How  can  I  set  thee  as  Zeboim? 
Mine  heart  is  turned  within  me; 
My  compassions  are  kindled  together; 
I  will  not  execute  the  fierceness  of  mine  anger; 
I  will  not  return  to  destroy  Ephraim: 
F"or  I  am  God,  and  not  man." 

'Is.  liii.  6.  ^Hos.  xi.  8,9. 


246  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

No  naturalistic  evolution  can  account  for  such  a  con- 
ception of  the  Divine  Father  as  we  have  in  the  parable  of 
the  Prodigal  Son,  or  in  his  love  message  to  the  world 
through  Jesus  Christ,  or  in  the  depths  of  tenderness 
which  we  have  in  Christ,  who  came  to  do  the  Father's 
will  by  his  ministry  of  suffering,  and  by  laying  down  his 
life  for  us.  In  this  we  see  how  the  divine  wisdom  has 
been  doing  a  greater  work  than  in  creating  worlds,  by 
being  the  Teacher,  the   Lover,  and   the  Saviour  of  the 

race. 

But  in  no  way  is  the  divine  love,  patience,  and  con- 
descension more  manifest  than  in  its  method  of  reaching 
down  to  the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  a  group  of 
Semitic  families,  to  teach  the  lessons  needed,  until  the 
fullness  of  the  times  should  come,  when  He  who  was  to 
be  the  mediator  of  the  love,  mercy,  and  justice  of  God 
should  be  revealed. 


APPENDIX   A 

QUESTIONS  ON   THE   SURVIVALS  OF  ANCIENT   RE- 
LIGION IN   BIBLE   LANDS 

I. 

Conceptions  of  God. — i.  What  conceptions  do  people  have 
of  God?  (a)  As  a  supernatural  being;  {d)  as  a  superhuman  man. 
2.  Do  they  seem  to  have  derived  them  from  the  relations  of  tribal 
life?  {a)  Do  they  think  of  him  as  moral?  (d)  Do  they  consider 
him  holy?  3.  Is  the  worship  of  the  saints  (welis)  a  moral  force 
among  the  natives  in  your  part  of  the  country?  4.  Why  do  the 
people  fear  the  saints  (welis)  more  than  they  do  God?  5.  Are 
there  any  indications  of  the  idea  that  God  (the  saint,  the  weli),  is 
the  physical  father  of  a  tribe  or  people?  6.  Are  there  any  usages 
or  expressions  that  indicate  God  as  a  procreator?  (d)  Do  women 
ever  regard  the  saints  (welis)  the  physical  fathers  of  their  children? 
(c)  Do  they  ever  speak  of  a  woman,  or  the  representation  of  a 
woman,  as  "  the  bride  of  God,"  or  is  there  any  similar  idea?  (d)  Is 
licentiousness  ever  a  feature  in  the  worship  at  the  shrine?  (Cf. 
Hos.  iv.  12-14.) 

II. 

Divine  Revelation.— I.  T/ie  Place,  i.  Where  are  tekkes, 
zeyarehs,  makams,  welis,  mezars  placed  in  your  part  of  the  country, 
and  which  of  these  designations  is  employed?  2.  Are  altars  or  a 
substitute  for  them  ever  used?  3.  Do  you  know  of  any  ancient 
altars  or  high  places?  Where?  4.  How  far  are  there  sacred  trees 
or  groves  in  connection  with  the  shrines?  5.  Is  the  body  of  a  saint 
(weli)  put  under  a  kubbeh,  or  under  the  open  heavens?  How  is 
the  place  arranged?  II.  The  Maiiiit-r.  i.  Names  of  sacred  waters 
with  which  you  are  acquainted,  fountains,  rivers,  streams,  wells, 
etc.;  anything  especially  characteristic  of  them?  (a)  Do  people 
bathe  in  them  to  get  healing?  {b)  or  barren  women  to  get  children? 
2.  Sacred  fish  ur  animals?  3.  Sacred  trees?  (a)  Are  they  ever 
regarded  as  having  a  spirit  residing  in  them?  {b)  Are  vows 
ever  made  to  them?  Food  hung  upon  them?  {c)  Do  people  ever 
receive  healing  by  being  under  them?    {d)  What  is  the  signifi- 

247 


248  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC   RELIGION    TO-DAY 

cance  of  the  rags  on  trees?  What  virtues  do  the  natives  attribute 
to  them,  and  what  use  do  they  make  of  them?  4.  Sacred  stones 
or  pillars,  (a)  Do  you  know  of  any  stone  through  which  a  spirit 
is  supposed  to  reveal  himself,  or  through  which  cures  are  wrought? 
(d)  Have  you  ever  seen  such  a  stone  in  or  before  a  shrine?  (c)  Is 
it  ever  anointed  with  oil, or  sprinkled  with  blood?  (d)  Have  you 
ever  heard  of  a  bridal  pair  passing  between  such  stones?  Relate 
any  ceremonies  in  connection  with  them.  5.  Sacred  caves,  (a) 
Do  you  know  of  any  caves  said  to  be  inhabited  by  spirits?  (d)  Do 
barren  women  ever  go  to  them  for  children? 

III. 

Man's  Relation  to  God  {or  the  saints). — I.  Sin.  What  is 
the  ordinary  conception  of  sin?  i.  Is  it  regarded  as  guilt  or  mis- 
fortune? e.g.,  according  to  old  ideas  are  murder  and  theft  crimes? 
2.  In  what  is  the  evidence  that  a  man  has  sinned.  II.  Sacrifice. 
I.  What  is  the  mode  of  sacrifice  in  your  district?  2.  Does  the 
term  used  for  it  signify  simply  slaughtering,  or  does  it  involve  some- 
thing more?  3.  Is  any  part  of  the  victim  burned  (on  an  altar  or  a 
substitute  for  an  altar)?  4.  How  is  the  fllesh  of  the  animal  com- 
monly disposed  of?  5.  In  what  sense  do  the  natives  regard  fowls, 
sheep,  goats,  bullocks  killed  in  payment  of  vows  as  sacrifices? 
III.  Shedding  of  Blood,  i.  Relate  any  customs  that  you  have 
observed,  or  of  which  you  can  learn,  in  connection  with  the  shed- 
ding of  blood.  2.  Do  the  natives  give  any  explanation  of  its 
significance?  3.  Is  there  any  connection  between  the  use  that  is 
made  of  a  mixture  of  semn  and  henna  and  blood? 

IV. 
The  Life  after  Death.— i.  How  far  do  the  people  have  any 
idea  of  a  future  life?    2.   Do  they  fear  death?    3.   Do  they  deem 
any  special  preparation  necessary  for  it? 

V. 
The  Spirit  World. — i.   Have  you  any  original  information 
regarding  the  jinn?     2.   Do  people  offer  sacrifices  to  them?     3. 
Do  they  offer  sacrifices  to  the  dead  or  for  them? 

VI. 

Miscellaneous.— I.  Give  any  useful  information  about  reli- 
gious customs  not  covered  by  the  preceding  questions.  2.  Is  there 
a  religious  significance  in  the  character  of  any  tattoo  marks? 


APPENDIX    B 

Outline  of  Journeys  in  Syria,  Palestine,  Egypt,  and  the  Sinaitic 
Peninsula,  including  the  time  spent  at  special  centers. 

Note.  —  The  modes  of  travel  throughout  Syria  and  Palestine, 
except  from  Jaffa  to  Jerusalem,  and  from  Beirut  to  Damascus, 
which  are  connected  by  railroads,  was  by  horses;  in  visiting  va- 
rious points  of  interest  in  Egypt,  was  by  donkeys;  and  in  the 
Sinaitic  Peninsula,  by  camels.  In  connection  with  most  of  the 
trips,  the  expense  is  indicated,  and  some  particulars  are  given 
with  respect  to  the  temperature  at  different  points,  although  no 
careful  observations  were  taken  except  on  the  tours  made  in 
the  summer  of  1900.  The  report  of  these  observations  appears 
in  a  separate  table. 

I.    TOURS,   1898-1899 

1.  Headquarters  in  Beirut. 

July  9th — July  i6th. 

2.  Journey  through  the  Lebanon  (with  two  tents,  which  were 

loaned,  with  a  dragoman  and  two  muleteers;  expense, 
S5.00  a  day);  Zahleh,  Niha  (ruined  temples),  Baalbek, 
Lake  Yammuneh,  The  Cedars,  Jebel  Makmal,  Bsherreh, 
Ehden,  Hasrun,  Ard  Akluk,  Afka  (source  of  the 
Adonis),  Natural  Bridge,  Jebel  Sunnin,  Zahleh,  Baruk 
and  Cedars,  Der  el-Kamar,  Aleih,  Beirut.  Temperature 
comfortable  all  the  way;  very  cool  at  the  Cedars. 
July  i6th — August  6th, 

3.  First  Conference  of  Christian  workers  at  Brummana.    Temper- 

ature pleasant. 
August  9tli— August  14th. 

4.  Visit  with   the   Rev.  George   C.  Doolittle,  of   Der  el-Kamar. 

Temperature  pleasant. 
August  15th— August  22d. 

5.  Mount  Hermon  and  the  sources  of  the  Jordan  (on  horseback, 

with  the  Rev.  W.  K.  Eddy  and  children,  without  tent, 
Mission  Stations).  Jezzin,  Jedeideh,  Shiba,  Hermon  (over 
night),  Merj  Ayun,  Muteileh  (Jewish  Colony),  Dan  (Tell  el- 
Kadi,  chief  sources  of  the  Jordan),  Caisarea  Phillippi 
(Baniyas,  source  of  tlie  Jordan),  Hasbeya,  and  Hasbani 
(first  source  of  the  Jordan),  Tell  Ijon,  Der  el-Kamar. 
Temperature  comfortable;  snow  on  Mount  Hermon,  and 
very  cold  at  night. 
August  22d — August  31st. 

249 


250  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 

6.  Beirut  to  Tripoli  (along  the  sea  coast,  on  horseback,  native 

hotels);  Beirut,  the  Dog  River  (inscriptions  inspected), 
Juneh,  Gebal,  Batrun, Tripoli.    Temperature  very  warm; 
but  fine  breeze  from  the  Mediterranean. 
September  6th — September  9th. 

7.  Northern  Syria  (companions,  the  Rev,  F.  W.  March  and  the 

Rev. W.  S.Nelson,  D. D.,  of  the  American  Presbyterian 
Mission,  and  Mr.  C.W.Wisner,  Jr.,  of  the  Syrian  Protes- 
tant College.  We  put  up  in  the  houses  of  native  helpers 
and  in  churches.  I  slept,  as  in  all  other  journeys,  unless 
otherwise  mentioned,  on  a  portable  iron  bedstead).  Trip- 
oli, Minyara,  Beinu,  Amar,  Kalat  el-Hosn,  Monastery 
of  St.  George  (chief  seat  of  his  worship  by  all  sects 
of  Moslems  and  Christians),  the  Sabbatic' fountain,  Safita, 
Meshita,  Musyaf,  Mehardeh,  Hamath,  Horns.  Tempera- 
ture pleasant.  The  first  thunderstorm  of  the  season 
after  March  occurred  at  Safita  in  the  night.  There  was  a 
very  heavy  fall  of  rain. 
September  loth — September  29th. 

8.  Horns  to  the  Syrian  Desert  (companions,  Turkish  soldier  and 

Butrus,  my  cook  and  muleteer);  Homs,  Lake  of  Horns, 
Tell  Nebi  Mendeh,  Riblah  (the  natives  pronounce  it 
Rubleh,  just  as  they  pronounce  Kibleh,  Kubleh),  where 
we  were  entertained  over  night  by  the  sheik  of  the  vil- 
lage, Shemiyeh,  Hasya,  Hafar,  Temperature  "quite 
hot  .  .  .  but  a  nice  breeze." 
October  ist— October  2d. 

9.  Syrian   Desert   (companion,   the   Rev.  J.  Stewart   Crawford; 

houses  of  native  helpers).     Hafar,  Hawarin,  Karyaten, 
Hot  Baths  of  Solomon,  Hafar,  Nebk,  Yabrud,  Malula, 
Sednaya,  Bludan.    Temperature  very  comfortable;  cool 
nights. 
October  2d — October  12th. 

10.  First  visit  to  Damascus. 

October  12th— October  17th. 

11.  First  visit  to  Jerusalem  during  the  sojourn  of  the  German 

Emperor.    Temperature  very  warm. 
October  23d — November  24th. 

12.  On  a  Syrian  housetop  in  Damascus.     Rainy  season,  but  much 

pleasant  weather.     Cold  at  night,  but  no  fire  necessary 
when  there  was  sunshine. 
November  28th — February  4th,  1899. 

13.  Egypt.    Port  Said,  Alexandria,  Cairo,  Pyramids,  and  Sphinx, 

Sakkara,   Cairo    to    Luxor  (by   sleeping-car),    Karnak, 
Thebes,  up  the  Nile  on  one  of  Cook's  steamers  (Ramses 
III.)  to  Assuan,  Philae.     From  Assuan  to  Cairo  by  train. 
February  7th — March  nth. 


APPENDIX    B  251 

14.  Sinaitic  Peninsula  (companion,  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Scotland,  of  New- 

port, Scotland;  dragoman,  Joseph  M.  Shaar;  cook,  and 
seven  Bedouin  from  four  different  tribes.  There  were 
ten  camels,  and  the  total  expense  of  the  journey  for  both 
was  S6oo).  Cairo,  Suez,  Ayun  Musa,  Wadi  Werdan, 
Wadi  Gharandel,  Ras  Abu  Zenimeh,  Maghara,  Firan, 
Wadi  Selaf,  Monastery  of  St.  Catharine  (two  days  and  a 
half  in  a  tent),  Jebel  Katherin,  Jebel  Musa,  Ras  es- 
Safsaf,  return  journey:  Wadi  Barak,  Wadi  el-Beda, 
Wadi  Tal,  Wadi  Gharandel,  and  so  back  over  the  same 
course  as  going.  Weather  very  pleasant,  but  very  cold 
at  the  end. 
March  12th — March  30th. 

15.  Beirut.     End  of  rainy  season.     Powerful  showers  every  day. 

April  ist— April  7th. 

I.    Tours  alone;  made  with  two  muleteers  and  a  tent.    (Ex- 
pense, S3.60  per  day.) 

16.  Phoenicia,  Galilee,  and  Samaria  to  Jerusalem.  Sidon.Nabatiyeh, 

Castle  of  Belfort,  Der  Mimas,  Castle  of  Baniyas,  Castle 
of  Hunin,  Castle  of  Tibnin,  Tyre,  Alma,  Dibl,  Nebi 
Shema,  Kadesh  Naphtali,  Kafr  Birim,  Jebel  Jermak, 
Meiron,  Safed,  Tiberias  (across  the  lake  to  Gamala  and 
Kalat  el-Hosn  back  to  Tiberias  on  horseback,  and  ford- 
ing the  Jordan  at  the  southern  end  of  the  sea  of  Galilee), 
Tiberias  to  rapids  of  the  Jordan  at  the  north  end  (return- 
ing in  a  boat  by  moonlight),  Mejdel,  Wadi  el-Hamam, 
Jebel  Hattin,  Nazareth,  Tabor,  Sepphoris,  Plain  of  Battof, 
Acre,  Mount  Carmel  (  Pross'  Hotel),  Esfiyeh,  el-Muhraka, 
(traditional  place  of  Elijah's  sacrifice).  Tell  Kasis,  Jenin, 
Dothan,  Sebastiyeh,  Nablus,  Gerizim,  Ebal,  Shiloh,  Sinjil, 
Jerusalem. 
April  7th— May  i6th. 

II.  Tours  with  a  companion  east  of  the  Dead  Sea.  (Com- 
panion during  this  and  the  remaining  tours,  Professor 
Gilroy  of  the  Semitic  Department  in  the  University  of  Ab- 
erdeen, Scotland). 

17.  Jericho,  Dead  Sea,  bridge  over  the  Jordan,  Heshbon;  Medeba, 

Jebel  Neba  (Nebo),  Main,  Dibon,  Jebel  Shihan,  Rabbath 
Moab,  Kerak,  Arab  encampment;  return  journey    over 
the  same  route,  spending  a  night  on  Jebel  Neba. 
May  17th — June  2d. 

18.  Beersheba  and  Philistine  Cities.    Bethlehem,  Tekoa,  Engeddi, 

Hebron,  Beersheba,  Gaza,  Ascalon,  Ashdod,  Yebna, 
Ekron,  Tell  es-Saf^  (Camp  of  Dr.  Fred  Bliss),  Tell, 
Zakariya,  Valley  of  Elah,  Bet  Jibrin,  Husan,  Pools  of  Solo- 
omon,  Jerusalem.  Tempcraturealwayscomfortable;  some- 
times with  refresliing  breezes. 
June  5th— June  i6th. 


2  52  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

IQ.  Esdraelon  and  the  Maritime  Plain.  Anathoth,  Ain  Fara,  Geba, 
Mickmash,  Betin,  Nablus,  Sebastiyeh,  Sanur,  Jenin,  Jez- 
reel,  Shulem,  Little  Hermon,  Nain,  Endur,  Meggido 
(Lejun),  Mount  Carmel  (at  the  Monastery),  Athlit,  Dor 
(Tantura),  Summarin  (Jewish  colony),  Cassarea.  Jaffa, 
Jewish  Industrial  School,  Lydda,  Modin  (Mediyeh),  Lower 
Beth  Horan,  and  Upper  Beth  Horan,  Jerusalem.  Temper- 
ature always  comfortable;  the  night  we  reached  Jerusa- 
lem was  cold. 
June  20th — July  ist. 

20.  Jerusalem. 

July  ist— July  nth. 

21  The  Jaulan  and  the  Hauran.  Jericho,  Arak  el-Emir,  Wadi  es- 
Sir,  Rabbath  Ammon,  es-Salt,  Jebel  Osha,  Wadi  Zerka, 
Jerash,  Suf,  Ain  Jenneh,  Ajlun,  Kalaat  er-Rubud,  Arbela 
(Irbid),  Capitolias,  Gadara,  Hot  Springs  (forded  the  Yar- 
muk  three  times;  the  ascent  to  Fik  was  steep  and  almost 
dangerous).  Aphek,  el-Merkez,  Tell  el-Ashary,  Edrei, 
Bosra,  Sheik  -  Miskin,  Damascus  (by  rail.)  Tempera- 
ture, with  the  exception  of  sirocco,  when  the  thermom- 
eter stood  at  ninety  for  six  hours,  at  Jerash,  was  very 
pleasant. 
July  nth— July  27th. 

22,  Jerusalem.  The  return  home  was  by  steamer  from  Jaffa  to 
Beirut;  from  Beirut  and  Smyrna  to  Constantinople, 
to  Athens,  and  by  train  to  Patras,  and  by  steamer  to 
Brindisi,  and  from  Brindisi  by  train  over  Milan  and  Basle 
to  Paris  and  London.  Temperature  in  Jerusalem  com- 
fortable at  night,  and  in  the  shade  during  the  day. 
August  3d— August  17th. 

II.    TOURS,   SUMMER   OF   1900 

Companion,  Mr.  A.  Forder,  of  Jerusalem,  missionary  to  the 
Arabs.  Expense  of  journey,  $7-5o  per  day;  traveled 
with  a  tent;  landed  at  Beirut  June  nth.  [For  a  record 
of  the  temperatures  see  special  tables  below.] 

1.  South  Country  (Negeb)  and  Gadis  (Kadesh  Barnea).    Jerusa- 

lem, Mar  Saba,  Bethlehem,  Pools  of  Solomon,  Hebron, 
Kurmul  (Carmel),  Main,  Yutta,  Dahariyeh,  Beersheba, 
Khalasa,  Ruheiba  (Rehoboth),  Biren,  Gadis;  returning 
Biren,  Rasisi,  Sbeta,  Wadi  Dhega,  Asluj,  Kurnub,  Wadi 
Milh,  Hebron,  Jerusalem. 
June  i8th— June  30th. 

2.  Jerusalem  to  Petra  (Wadi  Musa).    Jericho,  Medeba,  Meshetta, 

Zerka  Main,   Machaerus,  Wadi  Mojib,  Kerak,  Tafileh, 
Shobek,  Petra  (Wadi  Musa),  Tomb  of  Aaron.    We  re- 
turned by  the  same  route. 
July  2d— July  20th, 


APPENDIX    B  253 

3.  Jerusalem   to  Damascus.    Jerusalem,   Nablus,  Beisan,   Irbid, 

Muzerib  (by  rail  to)  Damascus. 

July  26th— July  2gtli. 

4.  Damascus    to    Palmyra    (victoria,    drawn    by    three    horses; 

total  expense,  S65.00).    Damascus,  Kutefeh,  Nebk,  Hafar, 
Mahin,  Karyaten,  Beda,  Palmyra.    We  returned  over  the 
same  route,  including  Der  Atiyeh. 
July  31st — August  loth. 

5.  Damascus  to  the  Druse  Mountains.     Damascus,  Negha,  Brak, 

Suwaret  el-Kebireh,  Smed,  Umm  ez-Zetun,  Damet  el-Alia, 
Kanawat,  Mayim,  Sahwet,  Ayun,  Salkhad,  Orman,  Tell 
Shaf,  Busan,  Shoba  (Philippolis),  Umm  ez-Zetun,  Suwaret 
esh-Shaghireh,  Suwaret  el-Kebireh,  Brak,  Merjaneh,  Der 
Ali,  El-Kisweh,  Damascus.  The  temperature,  with  the 
exception  of  one  day  of  sirocco  weather,  was  delightful. 
August  13th— August  23d. 

III.    TOURS,  SUMMER,  1901 

1.  Headquarters  at   Damascus  (including  visits  to   Bludan  and 

Ain  Fijeh). 

June  5th — June  20th. 

2.  Damascus   to  northern  Syria,  the  Nusairiyeh  Mountains  and 

Ladikiyeh  (companion,  the  Rev.  J.  Stewart  Crawford. 
We  took  our  own  beds;  entertainment  mostly  in  native 
houses;  expense,  S3.50  a  day).  Damascus,  Kutefeh 
Nebk,  Kara,  Hesya,  Homs,  Hamath,  Mehardeh,  Abu 
Obeda,  Ain  Kurum,  Jebel  Dhahr  esh-Sh'ar,  Matwar, 
Snobar,  Ladikiyeh,  Kadmus,  Musyaf,  Mehardeh,  and 
back  to  Damascus  by  the  route  already  indicated. 
June  2ist — July  20th. 

3.  Bludan   to   Mount   Hcrmon  (companion,  the  Rev.  J.  Stewart 

Crawford  ;  expense,  S2.50  per  day).     Bludan,    Rasheya, 
Mount  Hcrmon,  Kafr   Miski,  Burj  en-Nebi,  Nebi  Safa, 
Ain  Shirsha,  Der  el-Ashair,  Bludan. 
July  26th — August  2d. 

4.  Second  Missionary  Conference  at  Brummana. 

August  13th— August  i8th. 

5.  Visit  to  Abbas  Effendi  at  Acre.    Beirut  to  Haifa  and  return. 

August  20— August  24. 

Remark.— The  temperature  during  the  summer  of  1900,  as  will 
be  seen  from  the  following  record,  was  comfortable;  at  times  it 
was  very  cool.  And  during  the  summer  of  looi,  with  the  exception 
of  heat  and  humidity  at  Ladikiyeh,  it  was  pleasant. 


254 


PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 


SUMMER   TEMPERATURES 
1900 


Place. 

Date. 

Time  of  Day. 

Degrees 
Fahr. 

Remarks. 

Jaffa          

June  14th 
June  15th 

7:30  A.  M. 
6:30  A.M. 

72 
60 

erusalem 

"  Strong  breeze." 

(( 

June  1 6th 

7:15  A.M. 

58 

« 

June  17th 

7:45  A.M. 

62 

i< 

it 

8        P.  M. 

60 

Mar  Saba 

June  1 8th 

8:30  P.  M. 

71 

(< 

June  19th 

5:30  A.M. 

67 

Hebron 

June  20th 

6:30  A.  M. 

55 

"  Breath  of  morn- 
ing delicious." 

Dahariyeh  --- 

June  2ist 

6        A.  M. 

59 

Beersheba  .-- 

tt 

5:30  P.M. 

81 

t( 

June    22d 

5        A.  M. 

59 

Ruheibah  — 

(( 

4:30  A.  M. 

70 

Biren 

June    23d 

2         P.  M. 

93 

"  In  the  tent." 

(< 

June  24th 

7:30  A.M. 

75 

>( 

II 

2:30  P.  M. 

92 

11 

June  25th 

4        A.  M. 

59 

Sbeta 

June  26th 

12            M. 

65 

"UnderTerebinth." 

Jericho 

July  2d 

5         P.  M. 

98 

"Thermometer  in 
the  shade,  but  on 
the  wall." 

<i 

July  3d 

12      A.  M. 

84 

Medeba 

II 

6        P.  M. 

76 

"  Nice  breeze,  heat 
not  oppressive." 

<« 

July  4th 

5        A.  M. 

61 

Zerka  Main.- 

July  5th 

I         P.  M. 

92 

"  In  the  shade." 

Machaerus — 

July  6th 

4:30  A.M. 

67 

"  Beautiful  day  for 
traveling." 

Wadi  Mojib-- 

July  7th 

Warm 

"  Deep  ravine." 

Kerak 

July  9th 

4:15  A.M. 

71 

Tafileh 

July  loth 

5:35  A.M. 

61 

Shobek  

July  nth 
July  13th 

5         A.  M. 

53 

Petra 

6:30  A.M. 

67 

"Treasury      of 

Pharaoh." 

II 

II 

5:30?.  M. 

72 

"Temperature  fell 
in  ten  minutes  to 
65°." 

Tafileh 

July  14th 

5        A,  M. 

52 

II 

tt 

5:45  P.M. 

71 

"  Beautiful  breeze 
all  day." 

II 

July  15th 

7:45  A.M. 

58 

"Cold  in  the  night." 

Kerak 

July  17th 

9:30  A.  M. 

69 

Wadi  Mojib-- 

July  i8th 

3:30  A.M. 

77 

APPENDIX    C 

THE   SEVEN  WELLS  AT   BEERSHEBA 

Journal  V.  Gaza,  June  ii,  1899.  —  "We  had  a  most  inter- 
esting experience  at  Beersheba.  I  arose  at  4:15  a.m.,  and  went 
to  inspect  the  wells.  One  was  near  the  place  where  we  camped. 
It  is  about  ten  feet  in  diameter.  The  stones  are  hewn  square, 
and  joined  with  much  regularity.  I  should  think  the  well  might 
be  fifty  or  sixty  feet  deep.  Water  is  drawn  up  in  a  large  skin, 
by  a  camel,  by  means  of  a  windlass,  and  runs  from  thence  into 
a  stone  reser/oir,  after  it  has  been  emptied  by  a  couple  of  Arabs, 
and  then  into  a  trough  for  the  animals.  A  second  well  is  of  about 
the  same  dimensions,  and  with  the  same  arrangement  for  draw- 
ing water.  A  third  is  about  six  feet  in  diameter,  and  of  about 
the  same  depth.  The  stones  lining  the  well  are  hewn,  and  are 
quite  regular.  The  water  is  raised  in  skins,  of  smaller  size  than 
that  at  the  large  well,  two  or  three  men  pulling  up  each  sepa- 
rately. [This  is  the  usual  method  of  drawing  water  in  the  South 
Country.]  The  ropes  have  worn  grooves  in  the  soft  limestone 
rock  which  lines  the  wells.  A  fourth  well  is  being  opened.  The 
old  stones  which  were  used  in  lining  it,  and  which  had  been 
thrown  out,  are  irregular,  and  evidently  from  an  ancient  period; 
some  of  them  used  for  lining  the  well  at  the  top  bore  the  marks 
where  the  rope  had  worn  grooves.  The  superintendent  told  me 
there  were  three  other  wells  which  had  been  closed.  It  was  one 
of  the  most  fascinating  sights  I  have  seen,  (if  not  the  most  fas- 
cinating) to  behold  the  camels,  donkeys,  sheep,  goats,  and  horses 
gathered  at  these  wells.  It  was  a  matter  of  the  deepest  interest 
to  see  these  characteristics  of  patriarchal  life  in  a  district  entirely 
without  houses,  but  where  there  are  many  tents.  The  country 
reminds  me  of  a  western  prairie  in  its  level  character  around 
Beersheba,  and  especially  from  Beersheba  to  Gaza.  It  seems 
to  be  well  adapted  for  the  growing  of  grain  and  the  pasturage 
of  fli)cks.  I  must  have  seen  several  hundred  camels  at  Beersheba 
and  other  points.  Camels  are  watered  once  in  two  days  in  the 
regular  course  of  things,  although  in  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula  they 

255 


256  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

go  without  water  four  or  five  days.    Horses  can  endure   if  they 
have  water  once  a  day." 

Journal  VI.  Beersheba,  June  21,  1900.  —  "We  arrived  at 
Beersheba  at  12:30  P.M.,  after  a  ride  of  five  and  a  half  hours 
from  Dahariyeh.  We  could  have  made  the  journey  in  five,  but 
our  guide  being  old  was  not  able  to  keep  up,  so  we  gave  him 
a  ride  two  or  three  different  times  on  our  animals.  .  .  .  When 
I  visited  Beersheba  a  year  ago  four  wells  had  been  opened; 
now  there  is  a  fifth.  The  site  of  two  others  not  very  far  from 
the  chief  well  was  pointed  out,  so  that  seven  wells  are  account- 
ed for." 


APPENDIX    D 

THE  PROSE  VERSION  OF  THE  STORY  OF  'ARJA 

The  name  of  the  heroine  of  this  story  was  Fatima.  She  was 
lame  in  her  right  leg,  and  was  therefore  called  'Arja.  She  and 
three  other  girls  lived  in  a  village  where  there  was  no  water. 
They  each  belonged  to  a  patron  saint. 

One  day  the  four  girls  went  to  the  well  from  which  they  were 
accustomed  to  draw  water,  and  found  their  respective  saints  sitting 
around  it;  but  they  did  not  recognize  them  as  such.  The  four 
saints  began  to  jest  with  the  girls. 

One  of  them  to  whom  the  best-looking  girl  belonged  said, 
addressing  her,  "Would  you  not  like  to  become  the  disciple  of 
our  sheik? "  naming  another  to  whom  she  was  not  devoted.  She 
refused  to  abandon  her  sheik,  and  passed  on,  and  let  down  her  jar 
into  the  well,  it  came  out  intact. 

Another,  to  whom  the  girl  who  was  next  in  good  looks  belonged, 
said,  "Take  such  a  sheik,"  naming  one  besides  himself.  She  re- 
plied, "  I  will  not  abandon  my  sheik."  She  filled  her  jar,  and 
it  came  out  whole.  There  remained  two  girls.  The  third  was 
attractive.  Her  sheik,  whom  she  did  not  recognize,  said,  "Take 
a  sheik."  She  replied,  "  I  have  one,"  mentioning  him.  He  said, 
'  He's  no  good."  She  answered,  "  I  will  not  abandon  him."  She, 
too,  filled  her  jar,  and  it  came  up  unharmed.  The  fourth  girl 
remained.  Her  sheik  asked  her,  "Have  you  a  saint?"  She 
replied,  "Yes,"  though  she,  like  the  others,  did  not  recognize  her 
saint.  He  said,  "He's  no  good;  take  such  an  one;  he  will  help 
you  bring  up  your  pitcher;  it  will  come  out  safe;  but  your  saint 
will  break  your  pitcher  for  you."  She  refused  to  abandon  her 
saint;  so  the  other  three  saints  said  to  her  saint,  "Will  you  permit 
us  to  break  her  jar?  "  She  lowered  her  jar,  and  there  came  up 
only  the  two  handles.  She  began  to  cry.  Her  companions  had 
filled  their  jars  and  had  gone.  The  saints  said  to  her,  "  Did  we  not 
advise  you  to  take  such  an  one  as  saint,  and  you  would  not  heed 
our  counsel,  but  adhered  to  your  patron,  and  he  has  broken 
your  jar." 

257 


258  PRIMITIVE   SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

After  her  companions  had  been  gone  nearly  half  an  hour,  the 
saints  took  pity  on  her;  so  her  patron  saint  leaned  over  the  well, 
and  said,  "  In  the  name  of  God,  the  merciful  and  compassionate," 
and  brought  up  her  jar  whole  and  full  of  water.  He  told  her 
"Take  your  jar  and  go;  there  are  your  companions."  She  swore 
by  the  life  of  her  saint  she  would  not  go.  She  said,  "  I  must 
know  who  you  are.  He  told  her  who  they  were.  "  Now,"  said 
her  patron,  "  you  know  our  names,  go."  She  replied,  "  You  must 
first  give  me  the  gifts  of  the  good."  [z.  e.,  the  wine  of  those  who  are 
good,  the  brotherhoods  are  formed  through  the  cup.]  The  sheik 
gave  her  to  drink,  and  she  became  a  holy  woman — a  sheika.  She 
then  said,  "  I  am  not  going;  you  see  I  am  lame."  He  replied,  "  I 
am  not  a  surgeon."  She  responded,  "  The  man  who  restored  my 
jar  can  cure  my  leg."  He  then  said,  "  We  used  to  be  potters,  now 
we  have  become  physicians.  Oh,  God,  cure  her  leg!  "  She  began 
to  walk  like  a  gazelle.  He  said,  "  Take  your  jar  and  go."  She  said, 
"  How  can  I  go?  I  am  bald."  The  sheik  said,  "  No,  by  G— ,  that 
is  an  affliction;  we  began  as  potters;  we  continued  as  surgeons;  now 
we  have  become  physicians,"  and  prayed,  "  Oh,  God,  give  her  long 
hair."  It  came.  He  then  bade  her  go,  but  she  said,  "One  of  my 
eyes  is  bad."  He  named  the  name  of  God  over  her,  put  one  of  his 
hands  on  her  eye,  and  it  was  restored.  He  urged  her  to  go  with 
her  companions,  She  refused  to  go  because  she  was  naked. 
He  prayed  God,  who  sent  down  upon  her  a  green  robe  like  silk 
from  the  truth.  She  then  asked  for  money.  He  said,  "  We  do 
not  seek  for  property;  you  can  turn  up  the  carpet.  We  go;  the 
property  remains."  She  turned  up  the  rug,  and  found  a  river  of 
gold  and  of  silver.  She  did  not  take  any,  as  he  advised  her  not 
to  do  so.  He  and  his  followers  do  not  seek  wealth.  They  are 
allowed  to  beg.  He  said,  "  I  do  not  come  for  gold.  Are  you 
better  than  your  saint?     Let  it  go  on  flowing  under  the  carpet! " 

He  told  her  to  go.  She  said,  "I  am  afraid  to  go;  you  must 
bring  me  to  the  girls."  He  told  her  to  turn  her  back;  he  named 
the  name  of  God;  he  pushed  her,  and  she  landed  by  the  side 
of  the  girls;  he  pushed  her  again,  and  she  was  in  front  of  the 
girls;  he  pushed  her  a  third  time,  and  she  was  beyond  them. 
The  girls  did  not  recognize  her,  because  she  was  so  changed 
from  her  condition  when  she  was  lame,  bald,  blind,  and  naked. 
Finally  they  recognized  her  face,  and  asked  how  it  had  hap- 
pened.   She  replied,  "These  were  our  four  sheiks;  it  was  my 


APPENDIX    D  259 

saint  that  broke  my  jar,  and  who  gave  me  all  this."  She  then 
spent  the  rest  of  her  life  in  going  about. 

When  she  came  to  die  she  abode  at  the  place  now  called 
the  "  Mother  of  Pieces."  She  is  under  the  stones,  where  women 
who  make  vows  to  break  jars,  in  case  they  receive  the  bless- 
ings for  which  they  ask,  break  them.  The  father  of  the  priest 
of  the  "Mother  of  Pieces"  sought  to  build  a  shrine  for  her.  He 
spent  a  night  at  the  place,  and  dreamed  that  he  struck  his 
pickaxe  into  the  ground  and  hit  the  neck  of  a  woman.  The 
religious  men  whom  he  consulted  told  him  it  was  evident  she 
did  not  wish  that  he  should  build  her  a  shrine. 

The  women  now  break  jars  in  fulfilment  of  their  vows  be- 
cause her  jar  was  broken.  She  used  to  have  great  power  in 
preventing  any  one  from  taking  anything  from  the  trees;  but  re- 
cently she  seems  to  have  lost  some  of  her  power,  for  two  or 
three  trees  have  been  dug  up. 


APPENDIX    E 

HIGH   PLACES  AND   SACRED   SHRINES 

On  my  return  from  a  visit  of  fourteen  months  in  Syria,  Egypt, 
the  Sinaitic  Peninsula,  and  Palestine,  I  had  an  opportunity  to  con- 
sult the  literature  of  the  subject  with  reference  to  sacred  shrines. 
I  found,  in  Conder's  Tent  Work  in  Palestine,  an  interesting  con- 
firmation of  resuhs  which  I  had  reached  independently,  through 
my  own  researches  as  well  as  some  new  information.  I  quote 
the  most  important  passages: 

"The  professed  religion  of  the  country  is  Islam,  .  .  .  yet 
you  may  live  for  months  in  the  out-of-the-way  parts  of  Pales- 
tine without  seeing  a  mosque  or  hearing  the  call  of  the  Muedhen 
to  prayer.  Still  the  people  are  not  without  a  religion  which  shapes 
every  action  of  their  daily  life.  ...  In  almost  every  village  in 
the  country  a  small  building  surmounted  by  a  whitewashed  dome 
is  observable,  being  the  sacred  chapel  of  the  place;  it  is  va- 
riously called  Kubbeh  (dome),  Mazar  (shrine),  or  Mukam  (station), 
the  latter  being  used  in  the  Bible  for  the  '  places'  of  the  Canaan- 
ites,  which  Israel  was  commanded  to  destroy  'upon  the  high 
mountains,  and  upon  the  hills,  and  under  every  green  tree.' 
(Deut.  xii.  2.) 

"Just  as  in  the  time  of  Moses,  so  now,  the  position  chosen 
for  the  Mukam  is  generally  conspicuous.  On  the  top  of  a  peak, 
or  on  the  back  of  a  ridge,  the  little  white  dome  gleams  brightly 
in  the  sun.  Under  the  boughs  of  the  spreading  oak  or  terebinth, 
beside  the  solitary  palm,  or  among  the  aged  lotus-trees  at  a  spring, 
one  lights  constantly  on  the  low  building,  standing  isolated,  or  sur- 
rounded by  the  shallow  graves  of  a  small  cemetery.  The  trees 
beside  the  Mukams  are  always  considered  sacred,  and  every 
bough  which  falls  is  treasured  within  the  sacred  building.  .  .  . 
The  typical  Mukam  is  ...  a  little  building  of  modern  masonry, 
some  ten  feet  square,  with  a  round  dome  carefully  whitewashed, 
and  a  .  .  .  prayer  niche  on  the  south  wall.  .  .  .  There  is  gen- 
erally a  small  cenotaph  within,  directed  with  the  head  to  the 
west,  the  body  being  supposed  to  lie  on  its  right  side,  facing  .   .  . 

260 


APPENDIX    E  261 

Mecca.  .  .  .  This  Mukam  represents  the  real  religion  of  the 
peasant.  It  is  sacred  as  the  place  where  some  saint  is  supposed 
once  to  have  '  stood '  (the  name  signifying  standing-place),  or  else  it 
is  consecrated  by  some  other  connection  with  his  history.  It  is  the 
central  point  from  which  the  influence  of  the  saint  is  supposed  to 
radiate,  extending  in  the  case  of  a  powerful  sheik  to  a  distance  of 
perhaps  twenty  miles'all  round."' 

My  next  quotation  regarding  the  shrines  is  from  Clermont 
Ganneau,  from  his  monograph  on  The  Arabs  in  Palestine: 

"The  tenacity  with  which  old  religious  customs  have  been  kept 
up  is  another  remarkable  circumstance.  Not  only  have  the  Fella- 
heen, as  Robinson  conjectured,  preserved,  by  the  erection  of  their 
Mussulman  kubbehs,  and  their  fetishism  for  certain  large  isolated 
trees,  the  site  and  the  souvenir  of  the  hill  sanctuaries  and  shady 
groves,  which  were  marked  out  for  the  execration  of  the  Israelites, 
on  their  entry  into  the  Promised  Land,  but  they  pay  them  almost 
the  same  veneration  as  did  the  Canaanite  kooffars,  whose  descend- 
ants they  are.  These  makoms,  as  Deuteronomy  calls  them,  which 
Manasseh  rebuilt,  and  against  which  the  prophets  in  vain  ex- 
hausted their  invectives,  are  word  for  word,  thing  for  thing,  the 
Arabic  makams,  whose  little  white-topped  cupolas  are  dotted  so 
picturesquely  over  the  mountain  horizon  of  central  Judaea. 

"  In  order  to  conceal  their  suspicious  origin,  these  fellah  sanc- 
tuaries have  been  placed  under  the  protection  of  the  purest  Mo- 
hammedan orthodoxy,  by  becoming  the  tombs  or  shrines  of 
Sheykhs,  welys,  and  nebys  (elders,  saints,  or  prophets),  deceased  in 
the  odor  of  sanctity.  But  there  are  numerous  indications  of  their 
true  origin  beneath  this  simple  disguise.  For  instance,  the  name 
given  to  them  is  often  the  same  as  that  of  the  locality,  and  is  not 
merely  a  simple  name,  but  a  personification,  or  deification  if  I  may 
so  say,  of  the  place  itself;  for  many  legends  show  that  in  the  eyes 
of  the  peasants  the  neby,  or  prophet,  has  given  his  own  name  to  the 
place. 

"  This  close  connection  of  names  and  places  is  found  in  the 
Phoenician  and  Canaanite  mythology,  which  is  remarkable  for 
the  number  of  its  local  divinities,  and  it  helps  to  explain  why 
Moses,  not  content  with  ordering  the  destruction  of  the  Pagan 
sanctuaries,  insisted  upon  the  abolition  of  the  names  (Deut.  xii.  3). 
.  .  .  Another  point  of    religious  resemblance  is  the  worship   of 

"Tent  Work  in  Palestine,  London,  i8g5,  pp.  304,  305. 


262  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 

female  divinities,  which  we  know  was  common  among  the  Canaan- 
ites  and  is  still  practised,  many  modern  kubbehs  being  conse- 
crated to  women.  In  certain  cases  there  is  duality,  the  wely  or 
the  neby  being  venerated  in  connection  with  a  woman,  who  passes 
generally  for  a  sister  or  his  daughter.  This  relationship,  originally 
conjugal,*  which  has  been  changed  by  the  Mussulmans  into  one  of 
consanguinity  offers  an  equivalent  of  the  sexual  symmetry  of 
these  Phoenecian  couples  so  clearly  brought  to  light  by  M.  de 
Vogiie.''^ 

For  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula  I  can  cite  no  better  authority  than 
the  lamented  Professor  Palmer,  whose  attainments  in  colloquial 
Arabic  were  so  marvelous. 

The  following  is  his  general  characterization  of  the  shrines 
with  which  he  became  so  familiar.  In  his  chapter  on  Feiran,  he 
writes:  "Here,  too,  is  a  burial  ground  with  several  nicely  kept 
graves.  .  .  .  This  cemetery,  as  usual,  contains  a  '  Well,'  the 
tomb  of  Sheik  Abu  Shebib,  the  patron  saint  of  the  district.  It  is 
a  small  stone  building.  .  .  .  The  cenotaph  in  the  center  is  ac- 
tually covered  with  a /^z^w^/z,  or  a  cotton  pall.  .  .  .  The  Penin- 
sula of  Sinai  is  divided  into  so  many  districts,  each  of  which  has 
its  own  private  saint.  In  every  '  parish'  an  acacia  (or  shittim)  tree 
is  consecrated,  and  is  not  mutilated  by  having  its  branches  rudely 
lopped  off  to  feed  the  flocks  withal,  the  fate  of  every  other  tree  of 
the  species.  The  pods  are  shaken  off  when  ripe,  as  they  form 
a  favorite  and  nutritious  food  for  the  camels;  but  even  for  this  the 
saint's  permission  is  formally  asked  at  his  tomb.  The  Arab  regards 
his  patron  with  as  profound  a  reverence  as  that  with  which  an 
Italian  peasant  looks  upon  his  little  copper  Janarius.  He  appeals 
to  him  for  help  on  every  occasion  of  difficulty.  .  .  .  Abu  Shebib 
himself  is  reported  to  have  appeared  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of 
a  hunter  who  had  broken  his  leg  on  Jebel  el-Bendt,  and  to  have 
conveyed  him  safe  and  sound  to  his  own  home.  True,  however, 
even  after  death,  to  his  Arab  instincts,  the  saint  stipulated  for 
a  handsome  bakhshish,  a  white-faced  sheep  to  be  offered  once 
every  year  at  his  tomb."' 

•  There  is  an  example  of  such  conjugal  relationship  at  the  shrine  of  Tob,  at 
El-Merkez,  the  capital  of  the  Hauran.  His  cenotaph  and  that  of  his  wife  were 
pointed  out  to  Dr.  Schumacher,  of  Haifa,  but  the  old  sheik  who  showed  me  the 
cenotaphs  assigned  one  of  thera  to  Job's  son,  which  would  be  more  in  accord- 
ance with  Moslem  ideas. 

''The  Survey  of  Western  Palestine,  Special  Papers,  pp.  325,  326. 

'  The  Desert  of  the  Exodus.    New  York,  1872,  pp.  139,  140. 


APPENDIX   E  263 

In  this  connection  I  present  Burckhardt's  account  of  his  sacri- 
fice in  Wadi  Musa  in  sight  of  the  tomb  of  Nebi  Aaron.  "  The  sun 
had  already  set  when  we  arrived  on  the  plain;  it  was  too  late  to 
reach  the  tomb.  ...  I  therefore  hastened  to  kill  the  goat,  in 
sight  of  the  tomb,  at  a  spot  where  I  found  a  number  of  heaps  of 
stone,  placed  there  in  token  of  as  many  sacrifices  in  honor  of  the 
saint.  While  I  was  in  the  act  of  slaying  the  animal,  my  guide 
exclaimed  aloud.]  'Oh  Haroun,  look  upon  us!  It  is  for  you  we 
slaughter  this  victim.  Oh  Haroun,  protect  us  and  forgive  us!  Oh 
Haroun,  be  content  with  our  good  intentions,  for  it  is  but  a  lean 
goat!  Oh  Haroun,  smooth  our  paths;  and  praise  be  to  the  lord  of  all 
creatures.*  This  he  repeated  several  times,  after  which  he  covered 
the  blood  that  had  fallen  on  the  ground  with  a  heap  of  stones;  we 
then  dressed  the  best  part  of  the  flesh  for  our  supper."  * 

'  Travels  in  Syria  and  the  Holy  Land,  London,  1822,  p.  430. 


APPENDIX  F 

THE   SAMARITAN   PASSOVER 

The  following  description  was  given  by  an  eye-witness,  Dr. 
Daud  Katibah,  Nablus,  July  26,  1900.  I  have  preserved  the  lan- 
guage of  the  communication  without  essential  change. 

"  The  observance  is  celebrated  on  the  fourteenth  of  Nisan, 
which  varies  according  to  the  lunar  year.  When  Saturday  falls  on 
the  fourteenth,  they  celebrate  the  Passover  on  the  preceding 
Friday. 

"  They  go  to  the  top  of  Mount  Gerizim,  at  least  a  week  before 
the  feast,  pitch  their  tents,  and  there  they  remain  two  weeks. 
They  observe  the  feast  seven  days. 

"In  the  Samaritan  community  there  are  forty  men;  including 
women  and  children,  the  whole  number  may  be  estimated  at  one 
hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred.  [Baedeker,  Palestine  and  Syria, 
Leipzig,  1898,  gives  the  number  at  170.]  They  all  attend  the  festi- 
val, even  though  they  are  ill;  e.g.,  a  man  went  up  this  year  {1900) 
who  had  not  recovered  from  pneumonia. 

"  They  reckon  each  day  from  sunset  to  sunset.  The  observances 
on  the  day  of  the  Passover  are  as  follows:  They  begin  at  sunset 
with  singing,  in  which  all  take  part.  As  a  rule  they  kill  the  lambs 
needed  for  the  congregation  at  sunset.  These  are  white,  one  year 
old,  without  blemish.  Should  Saturday  fall  on  the  fourteenth  of 
the  month,  they  kill  at  noon  on  Friday,  and  eat  at  sunset.  As  a 
rule  they  eat  the  lambs  late  at  night. 

"  All  the  people  are  dressed  in  white,  and  they  begin  with  prayer 
and  singing.  There  are  several  priests  to  kill  the  animals  with 
special  knives.  The  knife  must  be  put  in  under  the  larynx.  If  an 
animal  is  not  properly  killed  they  call  it  unclean,  and  give  it  to  the 
Moslems  or  the  Christians.  During  the  slaughtering  they  sing 
(shout)  in  Samaritan. 

"  While  slaughtering  the  animals  they  make  a  fire  ready  in  two 
places.  One  of  the  fires  is  prepared  for  burning  the  wool,  the 
hoofs,  the  horns,  and  the  entrails.  Everything  that  is  not  eaten  is 
burned.    They  do  not  remove  the  skins  of  the  animal.    They  scald 

264 


APPENDIX    F  265 

them  and  pull  off  the  wool.  Two  men  then  hang  the  lamb  on  a 
pole  by  its  hind  legs,  placing  the  pole  on  their  shoulders.  Then 
the  priest  opens  the  belly  of  the  animal  and  removes  the  entrails, 
the  liver,  and  the  fat  on  the  kidneys.    These  he  burns  with  fire. 

"  The  other  fire  is  prepared  a  long  time  before  the  sacrifices. 
They  dig  a  pit,  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  depth,  and  in  this  they 
make  the  fire  five  or  six  hours  before  they  sacrifice.  A  special 
priest  feeds  the  fire  all  the  time.  When  the  lambs  have  been  made 
ready  by  the  priests,  they  put  the  poles  through  the  animals  from 
end  to  end.  At  a  signal  from  the  priest  they  quickly  put  the 
lambs,  seven  or  eight  in  number,  into  the  pit.  All  the  while  they 
are  singing  in  the  Samaritan  language.  Then  they  cover  the  pit 
with  a  network  of  wood,  and  afterwards  cover  it  with  earth.  No 
air  gets  inside,  so  there  is  no  conflagration,  only  heat.  The  lambs 
remain  in  the  pit  three  or  four  hours. 

"After  they  have  placed  the  lambs  in  the  pit,  they  all  go  to  a 
special  place  on  the  mountain,  including  men,  women  and  children, 
and  kneel  in  rows.  The  priest  has  the  law  of  Moses.  When  he 
prays  he  has  a  special  mantle  on  his  shoulders.  They  repeat  their 
prayers  by  rote,  with  their  faces  toward  the  south,  and  assume 
different  attitudes. 

"  When  the  time  comes  for  removing  the  sacrifices,  the  priest 
approaches  the  pit  and  makes  a  brief  prayer.  Then  the  people 
remove  the  covering  from  the  top  of  the  pit,  and  afterwards  lift 
up  the  poles,  on  which  are  the  lambs,  one  by  one.  Some- 
times the  poles  get  burned,  and  a  man  who  has  covered  up  his  face 
and  hands  is  let  down  with  ropes  or  by  their  hands,  and  he  takes 
up  the  lambs. 

"  By  this  time  the  people  are  very  hungry.  None  can  eat  of 
the  lambs  but  those  who  are  circumcised,  and  who  are  (ceremo- 
nially) clean.  Each  family,  and  those  who  are  reckoned  with 
them,  take  a  lamb  and  put  it  in  a  basket,  and  sit  around  it  in  a 
circle.  The  priest  begins  with  a  short  prayer  and  song.  After 
this,  standing,  they  eat  the  flesh  of  the  lambs  in  haste  with  unleav- 
ened bread  and  bitter  herbs.  None  of  the  Moslems  and  Christians 
who  are  watching  this  ceremony  may  partake  of  the  lamb,  though 
some  of  the  generous  Samaritans  offer  them  unleavened  bread 
and  bitter  herbs." 


APPENDIX    G 

ALTARS  AND  SACRIFICES   IN   THE   PRIMITIVE 
ART   OF   BABYLONIA 

BY  REV.  WILLIAM  HAYES  WARD,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

An  attempt  is  not  made  in  this  paper  to  cover  the  literary 
material  bearing  upon  the  use  of  sacrifices  and  the  nature  of  the 
altars  in  the  worship  of  the  early  East.  That  would  require 
a  study  of  texts  beyond  what  I  have  leisure  to  make.  I  simply 
attempt  to  gather  from  the  art  of  early  Babylonia  the  represen- 
tations of  altars  and  sacrifices,  and  discover  the  religious  ideas 
so  far  as  they  may  be  involved  therein.  A  very  large  part  of  the 
material  must  come  from  the  seal  cylinders,  which  have  pre- 
served much  the  larger  part  of  the  art  of  Babylonia,  in  contracted, 
though  fortunately  permanent,  forms;  and  to  these  cylinders  I 
have  given  minute  study  for  many  years. 

Babylonia  was  not  a  mountainous  region,  and  yet  the  early  art 
often  suggests  familiarity  with  the  region  of  mountains.  Gilgamesh 
sometimes  fights  the  swamp-buffalo,  and  sometimes  the  wild  bull 
of  the  forests.  The  sun-god  appears  rising  above  the  eastern 
mountains,  which  suggest  Elam.  There  are  ibexes  or  oryxes 
which  seem  to  suggest  the  hills  of  Arabia.  There  are  different 
types  of  faces,  front  view  and  profile,  which  seem  to  suggest 
different  origins.  We  seem  to  find  two  utterly  different  races, 
indicated  by  their  languages,  Sumerians  and  Semites,  going  back 
to  the  earliest  times,  not  to  speak  of  the  "black  heads"  and  the 
evidence  of  a  primitive  negroid  race.  These  facts  make  us  sus- 
picious that  the  Babylonian  religion  and  the  Babylonian  gods 
may  have  become  a  composite  of  diverse  origins,  which  per- 
haps it  may  yet  be  possible  to  separate.  But  to  do  this  would 
require  a  minute  study  of  both  the  literatures  and  art,  such  as 
has  not  yet  been  made.  I  merely  call  attention  to  this  point 
just  now  as  one  to  be  kept  in  mind  in  observing  diverse  cus- 
toms that  may  arise. 

So  far  as  I  can  make  out,  at  the  very  beginning  of  Babylo- 
nian art,  two  entirely  different  kinds  of  altars  were  in  use,  one 

266 


APPENDIX    G 


267 


of  which  soon  passed  out  of  use.  This  appears  to  be  a  square 
altar  with  a  single  high  step  or  shelf.  Its  shape  may  be  seen 
from   the   example   in   Fig.  i,   taken   from   a  very  archaic  shell 


Yr?\  f  Af 


Fig.  I.     SE.'XL   IN  THE   METROPOLIT.AN   MUSEUM,   NEW   VORK 

cylinder,  which,  if  we  can  judge  from  its  style,  is  considerably 
older  than  the  time  of  Sargon  I.,  whose  date  has  been  usually 
assigned,  on  the  authority  of  Nabonidos,  to  3800  B.C.,  although 
Lehmann  and  others  who  follow  him  believe  that  this  date  is 
perhaps  a  thousand  years  too  early.  The  two  shelves  appear 
to  be  used  to  support  vases,  cakes,  or  animal  sacrifices. 

Before  the  figure  of  Bel  in  a  four-wheeled  chariot,  drawn  by 
a  winged  dragon,  between  whose  wings  stands  a  goddess  hold- 
ing a  sheaf  of  thunderbolts,  stands  an  altar  of  this  shape.  On 
the  top  of  the  altar  are  what  may  be  two  flat  cakes,  and  there 
is  some  appearance  as  if  there  were  a  vase  on  the  shelf  below. 


Fig.  2.     METROPOLIT.XN  MUSEUM 


268  PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC   RELIGION   TO-DAY 

Before  the  altar  a  worshiper  pours  a  libation  through  the  spout 
of  a  small  vase.  The  libation  does  not  fall  on  the  altar  but  be- 
yond it.  In  this  case  the  idea  seems  to  be  of  a  worshiper  before 
what  may  be  a  bas-relief  of  the  god,  goddess,  and  dragon. 

A  second  illustration  of  this  very  primitive  style  of  altar  appears 
on  another  archaic  seal  (Fig.  2)  of  green  serpentine.  In  this  case 
the  seated  goddess  holds  three  stalks  of  grain  in  her  hand,  while 
before  her  is  an  altar,  on  the  lower  shelf  of  which  appears  to  be  a 
pile  of  flat  cakes,  with  a  bird  above  them,  while  a  vase  is  set  on 
the  upper  shelf.  A  second  figure  holds  a  plow.  A  yet  more  im- 
portant illustration  of  this  kind  of  altar  is  seen  in  the  famous  Rich 
cylinder  (Fig.  3),  which  represents  the  worship  of  Gula.     Here  the 


Fig.  3.     THE  RICH  CYLINDER 

altar  stands  before  the  goddess,  and  we  seem  to  see  its  construc- 
tion, probably  of  bricks,  although  it  is  equally  possible  to  conceive 
of  it  in  the  form  of  a  table  or  stand  made,  as  such  objects  are  still 
made,  of  stems  of  the  palm.  Here  on  the  upper  shelf,  the  top  of 
the  altar,  are  what  may  be  cakes,  and  on  them  the  head  of  a  goat, 
probably,  which  may  represent  the  whole  animal.  A  worshiper 
led  to  the  goddess  carries  in  his  arms  a  goat,  presumably  for  sacri- 
fice, if  we  may  be  guided  by  the  head  of  the  animal  on  the  altar. 

Yet  another  case  of  this  altar  with  a  shelf  is  seen  in  figure  4, 
where  a  cup  with  what  appears  to  be  a  flame  arising  from  it,  is 
seen  on  the  shelf.  Here  the  concave  sides  are  due  to  the  necessity 
of  so  drawing  them  because  of  the  concave  surface  of  the  cylinder. 

These  four  seals  are  the  only  ones  I  know  which  represent  the 
altar  of  this  shape.  They  are  of  the  highest  antiquity,  and  show 
offerings  of  food  on  the  altar,  apparently  cakes,  also  apparently  a 


APPENDIX   G 


269 


bird  on  the  altar,  and  the  head  of  an  animal,  also  a  vase  on  the 
altar,  with  burning  oil,  also  the  pouring  out  of  a  libation,  and 
farther  than  this,  the  actual  presentation  of  an  animal  before  the 
altar  by  a  worshiper.  We  have  here  a  pretty  full  ritual  of  sacri- 
fice. Several  different  deities  are  being  worshiped;  in  one 
case  the  seated  Gula,  in  another  perhaps  the  same  goddess  as 
the  patroness  of  agriculture,  in  another  case  both  the  god  Bel, 
perhaps  in  his  chariot,  and  the  goddess  with  the  thunderbolts,  and 
in  the  fourth  case  an  uncertain  seated  deity.  In  each  case  the 
deity  is  seated. 

A  second  form  of  altar  apparently  quite  archaic,  is  the  round 
hour-glass  form.     The  altar  we  have  been  considering  with  a  lower 


Fig.  4.     METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM 


shelf,  or  step,  appears  to  have  been  of  square  construction,  of 
brick,  if  it  were  not  possibly  of  wood,  or  rather  like  the  seats 
framed  from  stout  stems  of  palm-leaves.  This  second  type  is 
contracted  in  the  middle,  not  merely  by  the  concavity  of  the 
cylinder,  but  evidently  the  altar  itself  was  more  slender,  and  of 
quite  a  different  shape.  The  oldest  cylinder  of  this  type  is  of  the 
extremest  archaic  style.  This  is  seen  in  figure  5.  This  cylinder, 
like  three  of  the  four  previously  shown,  belongs  to  the  remarkable 
collection  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  New  York,  and  is  of 
marble.  The  bird-like  heads  indicate  its  antiquity.  On  cylinders 
of  this  type  we  frequently  find  the  earliest  rude  forms  of  the 
design  which  gives  us  what  Heuzy  calls  the  coat  of  arms  of 
Sirgulla,  and  which  we  see  in  its  best  form  in  the  silver  vase  of 
Entemena,  an  eagle  seizing  an  animal  of  some  sort  symmetrically 
with  each  of  its  talons.    On  this  cylinder  the  altar  carries  at  the 


270 


PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 


top  what  may  be  two  flames,  but  which  look  very  like  two  simple 
branches.  We  shall  see,  however,  that  in  the  bas-relief  from  Susa 
(Fig.  4)  the  single  flame  looks  very  much  like  a  branch.  It  is  im- 
possible, however,  for  us  to  imagine  that  that  bas-relief  repre- 
sented the  priest  as  watering  a  plant  in  a  flower-pot.  We  have  in 
this  archaic  design  (Fig.  5)  one  of  the  earliest  representations  of  a 


Fig.  5.    METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM 


worshiper  carrying  in  his  arms  an  animal,  always,  I  believe,  a 
goat,  for  sacrifice  to  a  god.  This  is  an  extremely  frequent  repre- 
sentation in  later  times,  when  the  altar  in  any  form  almost  disap- 
pears; and  in  the  earlier  times  the  occurrence  both  of  the  altar 
and  of  the  animal  carried  in  the  arms  is  not  usual, 

A  similar  altar,  round,  and  of  the  hour-glass  shape,  and  also 
showing  the  two  flames,  appears  on  a  cylinder  (Fig.  6)  in  the 
British  Museum.    While   not  as  primitive  as  the   last   cylinder. 


Fig.  6.    BRITISH  MUSEUM 


APPENDIX    G 


271 


it  is  quite  archaic,  and  it  confirms  the  supposition  that  it  is  two 
flames  that  are  represented  between  the  backs  of  the  two  gods: 
one  being  the  sun -god,  rising  behind  the  eastern  mountains; 
and  another,  repeated  for  symmetry,  a  god  having  the  attri- 
butes of  Nergal. 

In  Fig.  7,  we  have  an  unusually  complete  and  instructive  de- 
sign.   Here  we  see  a  seated  goddess  holding  a  scepter,  and  be- 


FiG.  7.    METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM 


fore  her  a  round  altar  of  the  hour-glass  shape,  somewhat  modified. 
In  front  of  the  altar  stands  a  worshiper,  carrying  on  one  arm 
a  goat,  while  with  the  other  hand  he  pours  a  libation  upon  the 
altar,  from  which  rises  a  flame.  Behind  him  follow  two  female 
attendants,  one  carrying  a  pail  or  basket,  and  the  other  some 
uncertain  object  on  her  raised  hand. 

Considerably  more  slender  in  shape  are  the  two  almost  col- 


FiG.  8.     METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM 


272 


PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION    TO-DAY 


umnar  altars,  which  we  see  on  an  archaic  cylinder,  though  not 
of  this  earliest  period  (Fig.  8),  Here  a  male  deity  appears  hold- 
ing a  plow  and  a  club,  while  before  him  a  worshiper  pours 
a  libation  from  a  slender  vase  on  the  altar. 

We  have  had,  in  Fig.  7,  an  altar  of  this  style,  in  which  the 
upper  half  of  the  hour-glass  was  enlarged.  In  the  cylinder 
of   Dungi   (Fig.  9),   the   upper   part   is   much    reduced,   and   the 


Fig.  9.     DE  GLERCQ  COLLECTION 

lower  part  is  enlarged.  Here  the  standing  god,  or  goddess, 
is  recognized  by  the  horned  head-dress;  although  the  goddess, 
in  her  familiar  attitude,  does  not  wear  the  usual  flounced  dress. 
The  worshiper  pours  the  libation  from  a  vase,  and  it  flows 
over  the  edges,  the  two  symmetrical  streams  ending  in  the  con- 
ventional knob.  We  may  suppose  that  the  oil  in  these  two 
streams  is  imagined  to  be  in  flames;  but  no  flame  can  well  be 


Fig.  10.    THE  LOUVRE 


V,%^8^^fV^ 


Z 

< 


APPENDIX    G 


273 


represented  as  rising,  since  the  space  is  occupied  by  the  action 
of  pouring  the  oil  from  a  vase. 

The  slender  hour-glass  altar,  which  we  saw  doubled  in  Fig.  8, 
appears  in  several  cylinders  of  the  period  of  Gudea,  of  which 
Fig.  10  is  a  sufficient  example.  I  take  it  from  Heuzy's  copy  of  an 
impression  of  a  seal  on  a  tablet  in  the  Louvre,  but  it  is  proba- 
bly not  quite  correctly  drawn;  and  the  two  flounced  deities,  one 
sitting  and  the  other  standing,  should  probably  be  beardless 
goddesses.  From  the  altar  rises  a  flame,  and  two  conventional 
streams  fall  symmetrically,  one  on  each  side.  We  get  the  im- 
pression on  all  these  altars  of  a  depression  like  a  cup,  cut  in 
the  top  of  the  altar,  into  which  the  oil  is  poured,  and  from 
which  the  burning  stream  overflows  to  the  ground.  Yet  another 
admirable  example  (Fig.  11)  is  taken  from  a  bas-relief  found 
by  de  Morgan  at  Susa.  The  construction  of  the  altar  is  well 
shown,  with  a  raised  ornamental  band  in  the  middle,  the  top 
apparently  hollowed  to  make  a  basin.  A  worshiper  pours  into 
this  basin  a  libat'on  of  oil  from  a  vase  with  a  spout.  A  flame 
arises,  conventionally  drawn  so  that  it  resembles  a  simple  plant 
Two  symmetrically  arranged  pendants,  from  the  bottom  of  the 
flame,  represent,  not  fruit,  but  the  overflow  of  the  burning  oil 
(de  Morgan,  Delegation  en  Perse,  Tome  I.,  Recherches  Arche- 
ologiques.  Paris,  1900,  p.  102).  This  special  type  of  altar,  with 
flames  thus  arranged,  was  the  usual  style  in  the  Gudea  period. 

I  now  revert  to  a  period  anterior  to  Gudea.  On  a  bas-relief 
from  Nippur  (Fig.  12),  appears  a  deity  seated  on  a  seat,  the 
back  of  which  ends  in  a  design  like  a  bird's  head.  The  god 
holds  a  vase;   behind  the  god  a  divine  attendant  leads  in  the 


V^" 


Fig.  12.    BAS-RELIEF  FROM    NIPPUR 


274 


PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 


worshiper,  who  brings  a  goat  in  his  arms,  another  instance 
from  the  very  earliest  period  in  which  this  presentation  of  an 
animal  offering  appears.  In  front  of  the  god  is  what  is  evi- 
dently a  round  altar,  flaring  at  the  top,  so  as  to  be  rather 
of  a  wine-glass  shape  than  the  shape  of  an  hour-glass.  Flames 
rise  from  the  top  of  the  altar,  indicating  that  oil  was  poured 
and  burned  upon  it.  Unfortunately  the  fracture  makes  it  im- 
possible to  distinguish  clearly  what  were  the  figures  in  front 
of  the  altar.  This  design  shows  what  was  one  of  the  earliest 
forms  of  the  round  altar,  which  in  the  time  of  Gudea  had  be- 
come a  slender  hour-glass,  and  was  drawn  with  the  single  slen- 
der flame  and  two  over-flowing  flames.  And  yet  we  remember 
that  the  first  of  the  round  altars  we  saw  (Fig.  5)  flared  equally 
at  the  top  and  bottom. 

I  have  mentioned  one  cylinder  which  1  thought  imperfectly 
drawn,  belonging  to  the  Louvre.  In  Lujard's  Culte  de  Mithren, 
XXVIII.  12,  is  a  cylinder  (Fig.  13),  credited  to  the  Museum  of  The 


Fig.  13.     AFTER  LUJARD 

Hague,  but  which  does  not  appear  in  Menant's  Catalogue  of  The 
Hague.  Before  the  seated  goddess  is  an  altar,  and  four  female 
figures  approach  her.  On  the  altar  appears  to  be  a  cloth,  and 
some  objects  seem  to  be  above  it.  But  I  think  it  most  probable 
that  what  appears  to  be  cloth  is  simply  a  badly  drawn  conception 
of  the  streams  falling  from  the  altar. 

There  is  a  very  peculiar  type  of  cylinder  of  quite  an  early 
period,  although  apparently  less  archaic  than  the  last,  on  which 
the  seated  deity  is  represented  with  the  body  ending  in  the  shape 
of  a  serpent.    We  may  presume  that  this  represents  the  god  Siru. 


APPENDIX    G 


275 


The  corresponding  goddess  sometimes  sits  opposite  him,  but  not 
with  a  serpent's  body;  or  sometimes  a  worshiper  stands  before 
him.  A  gate,  with  or  without  a  porter,  finishes  the  main  design. 
But  an  altar  stands  before  the  god  in  figure  14. 


,FiG.  14.     BIBLIOTHfgUE   NATIONALE 


In  figure  15  we  have  another  of  the  serpent  gods.  Between 
the  god  and  goddess  is  an  altar  which  seems  to  be  a  simple  upright 
construction,  apparently  of  bricks,  and  the  flame  is  represented  to 
be  rising  from  the  top.  One  is  at  liberty  to  imagine  that  this 
represents  a  mere  open  fireplace  for  warming  the  bands  of  the 
gods,  but  I  think  not. 

I  have  shown  that  a  worshiper  maybe  represented  as  carrying 
a  goat  as  an  offering  to  a  god.  He  is  sometimes  led  by  a  divine 
attendant  who  takes  his  hand,  and  a  second  worshiper  may  follow 
as  in  figure  7,  carrying  a  pail  or  basket  by  the  handles.    This  design, 


Fig.  15.    COLLECTION  DE  CLERCQ 


2/6 


PRIMITIVE    SEMITIC    RELIGION   TO-DAY 


with  the  second  figure  carrying  the  pail,  which  begins  to  appear 
at  an  early,  but  perhaps  not  the  earliest,  period,  is  more  frequently 
seen  without  the  altar,  on  the  carefully  engraved  smaller  hematite 
cylinders  of  the  Middle  Empire.  Among  the  older  examples  are 
some,  as  in  figure  i6,  where  large  amphorae  seem  to  be  presented 


Fig.  i6.    THE  LOUVRE 


to  the  goddess,  and  sometimes,  as  in  figure  17,  the  worshiper 
presents  a  drink-offering  in  a  cup. 

The  nature  of  the  vase  from  which  libations  are  poured  to 
the  god  in  the  archaic  period  appears  in  two  very  old  votive 
bas-reliefs  (Figs,  18,  19),  figured  by  Hilprecht,  Bab.  Exp.  I„  Pt.  II., 
PI.  XVI.,  figures  37,  38.  Here  we  may  presume  that  both  the  ram 
and  the  goat  were  brought  as  offerings  as  well  as  the  gifts  which 
another  worshiper  carries  in  his  hand. 

From  the  representation  of   these  hour-glass  altars  we  gain 


Fig.  17.    COLLECTION  DE  CLERCQ 


FIGURE    l8,   HILPRECHT. 


FIGURE    19,    IIILI'KECHT. 


APPENDIX    G  2^^ 

very  little  that  differs  from  those  which  were  of  the  stepped  pat- 
tern. We  do  not  see  any  representation  of  animals  on  these  altars, 
although  we  see  animals  brought  in  the  arms  of  the  worshipers. 
The  altars  are  used  chiefly,  or  wholly,  for  libations  of  oil.  No 
cakes  are  seen.  That  it  is  oil,  and  not  blood,  that  is  poured  on  the 
altar  appears  from  the  flames.  It  is  noticeable  that  in  no  case 
do  we  see  an  animal  slain,  as  we  do  see  it  in  the  contests  of 
Gilgamesh  and  Ea-bani,with  lions,  buffaloes,  bulls,  and  leopards. 
There  is  no  outpouring  of  blood  represented.  Yet  on  the  other 
hand,  if  the  blood  sacrificed  is  not  poured  out,  neither  is  the 
thought  that  of  a  meal  with  the  god.  What  we  most  notice  is  the 
good  savor  of  the  oil  burnt  before  the  god. 


INDICES. 


I.  NAMES. 


Aaron,  tomb  of,  40,  79,  185. 

Abbas  Effendi,  48,  102,  109. 

Abdu  Khadir,  205. 

"  Abdullah  is  dead,"  208,  224. 

Abdullah  saved   by  slaughter   ot    100 

camels,  209. 
Abraham,  birthplace,  81. 
Abraham,  tribe  of,  57. 
Abu  Ali  works  himself  into  a  frenzy, 

79. 

Abu  Ibrahim,  189. 

Abu  Obeida,  blood  marks,  192,  193. 

Abu  Rabah,  117. 

Abu  Risha,  85. 

Abyssinia,  189. 

Achan,  130. 

'Ain  Kadis,  182, 

'Ain  Kurum,  98. 

Ali,  worship  of,  103,  104,  106. 

Attonyan,  Dr.  A.  A.,  215. 

Arabs,  Mawali,  201. 

Aramaeans,  61. 

'Arja,  poetical  story  of,  82;  prose  ac- 
count of,  257  ff. 

Asfuriyeh,  go. 

Assassins,  loi. 

Assuan,  30. 

Atiyeh,  Joseph,  209. 

Ayeshah,  194. 

'Ayun,  187. 

Azazimeh,  37. 

Baalbek,  journey  to,  26. 
Baalim,  133,  171. 
Bal)ites,  96,  108. 

BaldcnsperKcr,  titles  of  articles,  19. 
Babylonian  account  ot  Noah's  sacri- 
fice, 73. 
Barren  women,  117,  118. 
Barton,  56. 


Bashan,  186. 

Baudissin,  133. 

Beersheba,  36,  255. 

Behammra,  100. 

Beinu,  17,  139. 

Beirut,  12. 

Berzeh,  shrine  of,  81,  171. 

Bethesda,  90. 

Bliss,  President,  Daniel,  23, 

Bliss,  F.J. ,32,  61. 

Blunt,  Lady,  64,  67. 

Bozra,  39. 

Braigh,  211. 

Browne,  96,  108. 

Brummana,    missionary    Conferences 

at,  26.  48. 
Burckhardt,  20,  21,  164,  175,  204. 
Busan,  187. 

Burton,  173,  175,  176,  224. 
Butrus,  cook  and  muleteer,  31. 

Cairo,  30. 

Calcutta,  sacrifice  to  goddess  Kali, 
216. 

Callirrhoe,  39,  89. 

"Chair,"  minister  of,  225. 

Cheniosh  angry  with  his  land,  128. 

Church  of  Redemption,  dedication  of, 
29. 

Circassians,  b2. 

Conder,  260. 

Copts,  custom  at  marriage,  204. 

Crawford,  Rev.  John,  29;  characteriza- 
tion of  Syrian  Desert,  40. 

Crawford,  Mrs.  John,  171,. 

Crawford,  Rev.  J.  Stewart,  14,  21,  28, 
199. 


Dale,  Mrs.,  232. 
Damascus,  la,  29. 


279 


28o 


INDICES. 


Delitzsch,  Franz,  ii,  22. 

Deniishki,  Hanna,  162,  181. 

Der  Atiyeh,  192. 

Desert,  Syrian,  28. 

Dahariyeh,  36. 

Dibbash,  207. 

Diniitri,  teacher  of  Arabic,  29. 

Doolittle,  Rev.  George  C,  25,  26. 

Doughty,  21,  66,  92,  178, 189,  190,  191. 

Druse  Mountains,  35,  40- 

Druses,  61,  62,  96,  208. 

Ebers,  166. 

Eddy,  Rev.  W.  K.,  25,  27,  124,  125,  iSg. 

Egypt,  journey  in,  30. 

En  Misphat,  38. 

Erman,  87. 

Feiyad,  91. 

Ford,  Miss  T.  Maxwell,  104, 125. 

Forder,  20,  35,  89. 

Frazer,  51,  77. 

Gadis  (Kadesh  Barnea)34,  37,  38,  182. 

Gates,  Rev.  Herbert  W.,  15. 

Gaza,  143. 

Geiger,  51. 

George,  St.,  83. 

Ghazaleh,  Ahmed,  178. 

Gilroy,  Prof.,  University  of  Aberdeen, 

companion  in  travel,  32. 
Graham,  Dr.  and  Mrs.,  31. 

Hakim,  107. 

Hamath,  90,  197. 

Hamed  el-Hudefi,  185. 

Hanauer,  Rev.  J.  E.,  181. 

Harding,  Henry  C,  67,  72.  89,  91,  183, 

198,  206. 
Hasan,  104. 
Haupt,  Paul,  210. 
Hermon,  Mt.,  ascent  of,  27. 
Hindi,  Ahmed,  175,  224. 
Homs,  84,  197. 
Hornstein,  C,  164. 
Hosein,  104. 

Hoskins,  Rev.  Franklin  E.,  105,  187. 
Hughes,  194 
Hunter,  Sir  W.  W.,  217. 


Ishmael,  sacrifice  of,  175. 

Islam,  not  a  development  from  ancient 

Semitism,  240. 
Ismailiyeh,  religious  customs,  60,  202. 

Jabur,  61. 

Jacob,  wrestles  with  God,  74. 

Jebel  Kasiun,  30. 

Jedaideh,  27. 

Jehovistic  account  of  Noah's  sacri- 
fice, 73. 

Jerusalem,  12. 

Jessup,  Rev.  Henry  H.,  25,  79,  188,  228. 

Jevons,  60. 

Jiddah,  186. 

Job,  misfortunes  of,  sign  of  sin,  127. 

Johnson,  Dr.  F.,  198. 

Juneh,  cave  of,  visited  by  barren  cou- 
ples, 119. 

Juttah,  36. 

Kaaba,  kissing  the  stone,  240. 

Kadesh  Barnea,  38,  182. 

Kalat  el-Hosn,  84. 

Kali,  goddess,  216. 

Kandhs,  217. 

Kazem  Beg,  108. 

Kerak,  114. 

Khalasa,  36,  37. 

Khahil,  Abdu,  232. 

Khuri,  Faris  L.,  84,  191. 

Kurmul,  36. 

Kurnub,  38. 

Karyaten,  85,  91. 

Lane,  66,  195,  207. 
Lang,  51,  64. 
Layard,  186. 
Lepsius,  142. 
Loba,  J.  F.,  59. 

Lyde,  missionary  among  the  Nusairi- 
yeh,  100,  106. 

Mackenzie,  Rev.  \Vm.  Douglas,  15. 
Mackie,  G.  M.,  71. 
Mahin,  205. 
Matthews,  A.  N.,  195. 
Masud,  Anis,  dragoman,  26, 
Mar,  Sarkis,  139. 


INDICES. 


281 


Mar,  Yehanna,  85. 

March,  Rev.  F.  VV.,  17,  28. 

Mecca,  170,  175. 

Mehardeh,  201. 

Myer,  Rev.  F.  B.,  216. 

Michmash,  234. 

Mina,  or  Muna,  170,  1T1,  223. 

Mishwat,  190. 

Mohammed,  traditional  saying  of,  194. 

Muir,  Sir  Wm.,  192,  197,  211. 

Musa,  guide  at  Fetra,  dialogue  with, 

79. 

Musyaf,  loi. 

Musulleh,  140. 

Naaman,  58. 

Nebi  Safa,  173. 

Nebk,  199,  205. 

Nelson,  Rev.  W.  S.,  17,  25. 

Nies,  Rev.  James  B.,  234,  236. 

Noah,  his  sacrifice,  73. 

Nofel  Effendi,  174. 

Noorian,  Daniel  Z.,  59. 

Nusair,  120. 

Nusairiyeh,  60;  claim  Ali  had  no  chil- 
dren, 107;  reckoned  as  Moslems,  96; 
secrets  of  initiated  revealed,  97. 


Orontes,  channels  of,  117. 


Palgrave,  66,  126. 
Palmer,  20;,  226,  262. 
Palmyra,  journey  to,  40,  186. 
Petra,  39,  183,  235.  236. 
Pharaoh,  treasury  of,  39. 
Porter,  Professor,  loi. 
Porter,  Rev.  J.  L.,  186. 
Post,  Rev.  George  E.,  M.  D.,  18,  66, 
184. 


Ramses  II.,  86. 

Rasheyeh,  83,  214. 

Ravndal,  G.  B.,  American  Consul  at 

Beirut,  100. 
Richards,  British  Consul  at  Damascus, 

186. 
Ritschl,  Examiner  in  Hebrew,  210. 
Riippel,  142. 
Ruheibeh,  182. 


Safa,  Nebi,  283. 

Safita,  17. 

Saladin,  loi. 

Sale,  170. 

Salisbury.  Professor  of  Yale  College, 
translator  of  the  secrets  of  the 
Nusairian  religion,  97. 

Samuel's  sacrifice  on  the  High  Place, 
138. 

Sayce,  s6. 

Schaff,  Philip,  22. 

Schimper,  166. 

Schumacher,  86,  23;,  236. 

Sell,  170. 

Sellum,  Anis,  81. 

Shammar,  Arab  tribe,  64. 

Sheik,  Rihan,  92. 

Sheik,  Sa'ad,  86. 

Sheik,  Shadli,  discoverer  of  coflfee,  183. 

Sherarat,  125. 

Shiites,  do  not  use  the  term  fedou,  210. 

Sinai,  Mt.,  journey  to,  30. 

Smith,  George  Adam,  59. 

Smith,  W.  Robertson,  21,  56,  218. 

Snobar,  212. 

South  Country,  36. 

Stade,  61. 

Stambul,  report  to  Sultan,  20. 

St.  Catharine,  30. 

St.  Rih,84. 

Sterling,  Dr.,  36. 

Stewart,  Rev.  James  S.,  78,  100. 
Straus,  Mr.  Oscar,  fails  to  get  permis- 
sion to  visit  Druse  Mountains,  35. 
Suleiman  of  Adana,  47. 
Suleiman  of  Nebk,  69,  72. 
Sufsaf,  Ras,  30. 
Surur,  201,  205. 

Syrians,  not  of  pure  stock,  62. 
Syrian  Desert,  40. 


Tell  el-Kadi,  143. 

Tell  Abu  en-Neda,  228. 

Tell  Sh'af,  187. 

Teyahah,  37. 

Thompson,  \V.  L.,  63,84. 

Tischendorf,  165. 

Tongas,  84. 

Tophel,  183. 

Towarah,  specimen  of  prayers,  67,  68. 


282 


INDICES. 


Tripoli,  197. 

Trumbull,  H.  Clay,  35,  57.  177,  233. 

Urfa,  214. 

V'anDyck,  Dr.  Wm.,  91,  93,  97. 

Wahabites,  most  orthodox  sect  of 
Islam,  sought  to  crush  out  worship 
of  welis,  76. 

Waldmeier,  90,  162,  189. 

Walpole,  167. 

Ward,  Rev.  W.  Hayes,  14. 

Watson,  Rev.  Dr.,  30. 


Wathic,  211. 

Webster,  H.  A..  61. 

West,  Robert  H.,  25. 

Wheeler,  Percy  D.  'Erf,  M.D.,  182. 

Williams,  182. 

Wilson,  Edward  L.,  does  not    reach 

Gadis,  35. 
Wortabet,  Arabic-English  Dictionary, 

230. 

Yadji,  Habeeb,  64. 
Yuseph  el-Hagg,  79. 

Zeller,  Rev.  John,  71,  232. 
Zimmern,  49,  53,  54,  196,  205,  219. 


11.     SUBJECTS. 


Afrit,  supposed  to  inhabit  sluice,  198. 

Altars,  built  by  patriarchs,  133. 

"Ancient  and  Primitive,"  not  synony- 
mous, 50. 

Angel,  troubling  the  water,  90. 

Angels,  sacrifices  to,  179. 

Animal,  cooked,  215. 

Arabic,  pronunciation  of,  translitera- 
tion of,  15;  modern,  study  of,  30. 

Atonement,  Babylonian  Ritual,  53; 
doctrine  of,  195. 

Babylonian  exile  destroyed  monolatry, 
242. 

Bargain  with  saint  for  child,  118. 

Baths  of  Solomon,  116. 

Bay  of  St.  George,  24. 

Best  gowns  worn  by  jinn,  115. 

Bible,  record  of  many  revelations,  14. 

Birth  of  son,  announcement  of,  201. 

Blasphemy  against  Mohammed,  State 
offense,  96. 

Blessing,  185. 

Blood,  avenger  of,  191;  "breaking  forth 
of,"  202;  bride  must  step  over  it 
among  Copts,  204;  "bursting  forth 
of,"  197.  211,  212,  213;  child 
anointed  with,  203;  considered  de- 
filing by   Moslems,  219;     covered 


up,  200;  existence  regarded  im- 
possible at  Moslem  shrine,  19; 
used  in  foundations  of  buildings, 
184;  in  sluice  of  water  wheel,  198; 
marks  of,  at  shrine  of  Abu  Obeida, 
193;  of  black  fowls  on  lintels,  etc., 
in  Abyssinia,  189;  of  cock,  good 
for  bad  eyes,  141;  on  neck  of  camel, 
183;  on  the  door  posts,  181;  shed 
at  entrance  of  cave,  184;  used  in 
sign  of  cross,  19S;  sprinkled  on  cor- 
ner of  building,  191;  sprinkled  on 
door  posts  of  shrine,  192;  stripes  of 
on  makam  at  Nebi  Eyyub,  188; 
used  in  bathing  face  and  shoul- 
ders, 205;  used  in  solemnization  of 
marriage  among  Aenezes,  204. 

Blood-Sprmkling,  Babylonian,  54;  sup- 
posed to  propitiate  a  jinn,  190. 

Book,  outgrowth  of  journeys,  17. 

Books,  sacred,  81. 

"Bride  of  God,"  114. 

"Bride  of  the  Nile,"  114. 

Bush,  burning,  92. 

Calf,  offered  to  St.  George,  213. 
Camel  not  good  for  transportation  of 

traveller's  baggage,  in   Palestine, 

31- 


INDICES. 


283 


Cave,  Juneh,  95. 

Caves,  controlled  by  a  spirit,  94. 

Cave  of  Khuddr,  95. 

"Chair  of  the  Companions,"  87;  ser- 
vant of,  65. 

Child,  presented  at  shrine,  202. 

Circulars  of  inquiry  sent,  18. 

Conquered  races  impose  their  customs 
on  conquerors,  58. 

Corpse,  borne  across  a  stream  defiles 
it,  200. 

Covenant  between  God  and  Israel,  214. 

Curses  of  other  sects  in  the  Nusairian 
ritual,  98. 

Custom,  persistence  of,  among  Orien- 
tals, 53.  65,  220. 

Death,  "Every  house  must  have  its 
death,"  196. 

Deification  of  men  excluded  by  Mos- 
lem creed,  96. 

Desecration  of  shrine  visited  with 
death,  140. 

Development  in  O.T.,  14. 

Dolmen,  channels  for  blood,  234. 

Druse  woman  interviewed,  214. 

East  of  tent  the  front,  202. 

"Every  house  must  have  its  death," 

65. 
Evil,  Moslems  think  it  from  the  devil 

by  God's  permission,  6S. 
Expiation,  doctrine  of,  194. 

"Fail  me,"  "why  did  you?"  70. 

Fatalist,  Moslem,  65. 

Festival,  annual,  215. 

"Fire  of  Hell,"  125. 

Folk-lore,  78. 

Forests  in  Syria,  99. 

Fowls  sacrificed  by  poor,  203. 

German  Emperor,  29. 

Girls  in  care  of  flocks,  37. 

God,  author  of  good  and  evil,  68;  chief 
residing  in  the  sun,  67;  fate  to 
which  all  must  bow,  68;  may  lead 
astray,  69;  jealous,  71;  he  and  St. 
George  are  brothers,  72:  has  hu- 
man organism,  72;  worship  ol  him 


and  inferior  deities  side  by  side. 
64;  "God  had  three  sons,"  113; 
shameless  conceptions  of,  114. 

Guards  passed  at  night,  42. 

"Hardening  the  heart,"  70. 

"Head  for  head,"  207,  227. 

Heaps  of  witness,  80. 

Heavenly  bodies,  worship  of,  104. 

High  Places,  133  ti. 

"Holy  men,"  149. 

House,   "Every  house  must   have  its 

death,"  225. 
House  of  Ivory,  no. 
Housetop,  home  for  two  months,  29. 

Incarnation,  illustrated    by  image  of 

sun  in  a  mirror,  109. 
Investigations,  place  for,  60;   success 

of.  47. 
Insane,  189. 
Interviewing  natives,  20. 

Journals,  unpublished,  used  as  sources, 
13;  lost,  41. 

Kid,  killed  over  head  of  a  man,  204. 

Lawlessness  at  "Ain  Kurum,"  98. 
Libation  of  coffee,  183. 

Marriage  of  Joram  and  Athaliah,  no. 

Messages  of  O.  T.,  why  divine?  14. 

Misfortune,  evidence  of  sin,  127,  221. 

Method  of  investigation,  20. 

Missionaries  thought  to  be  possessed 
of  important  archaeological  in- 
formation, 34;  companions  in 
travel,  20. 

Moslems,  unlettered,  refer  to  books, 

81. 
Mt.  Carmel,  95;  cave  at,  203. 
Mt    Hermou,    remains    of  ashes  and 

bones,  142. 
Mt.  Hor,  visited,  185. 
Mt.  of  Jehovah,  93. 
Mt.  Serbal,  place  of  worship,  142. 

"  Not  a  bone  to  be  broken,"  178. 


284 


INDICES. 


Obscene  language  avoided  in  going  to 

a  shrine,  75. 
Obscenity,  129. 
Old  Testament,  record  of  many  divine 

revelations,  14- 
Origin  of  Israel's  religion,  three  views, 

238  ff. 

Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  ques- 
tions, 19. 

Purse,  "on  account  of,"  2i5- 

Penitential  Psalms,  131- 

Phallic  worship,  possible  symbol  of. 
18S;  in  India,  59. 

Phallus,  laid  across  entrance  to  shrine, 
140. 

Physical  fatherhood  of  deity,  repug- 
nant to  Islam,  112. 

"Positive  religion,"  64. 

Primitive  Semitism  furnished  forms  of 
speech,  14. 

Procreative  power  possessed  by  spirits 
of  the  dead,  115,  "6. 

Primitive  Semitic  Religion,  institu- 
tions of,  medium  of  revelation,  55; 
traces  of  to-day,  49.  5o. 

Prayer,  attitude  of  Moslems,  i45- 

Priesthood,  portion  received  from  the 
sacrifices,  i47- 

Reconciliation  of  avenger  with  mur- 
derer, 191. 

"Redeemed  you,"  212. 

"Redeem  soul  by  soul,"  208. 

Researches,  special,  34  S. 

Revue  biblique,  article  on  Dr.  Trum- 
bull, 35. 

Robbed,  30. 

"Rock,"  Semitic  name  of  God,  88. 

Sabbatic  fountain,  213. 

Sacred  Oak,  94. 

Sacrifice  and  slaughtering,  Arabic 
word  for  them  the  same,  172. 

Sacrifices,  animals  and  fowls  used.  174; 
between  the  feet,  i77;  confession 
one  is  worthy  of  death,  176;  covers 
sin;  211;  dahhiyeh,  uses  of,  176;  for 
children,  177;  for  the  dead,  179,206; 
for  houses,  Babylonian,  S4;  hand 
put  on  back  of  animal,  148;  in  pay- 


ment of  vows,  172;  part  which  falls 
to  the  priest,  173;  important  part, 
pouring  out  of  blood.  216;  human, 
217;  in  connection  with  circumci- 
sion, 178;  place  where  they  may  be 
slain,  211;  place  of,  229  ff ;  placed  in 
the  ground  at  Muna,  224;  substitu- 
tionary character  of,  225;  that  in 
which  it  consists.  223;  tenth  day  of 
Pilgrim  month,  170;  to  jinn,  198. 

Sacrificial  meal,  170,  218;  term,  misno- 
mer, 222. 

Saints,  according  to  Moslems  only  me- 
diators, 75. 

Saint,  called  God,  95;  real  force  in  the 
life  of  the  people,  124. 

Samaritan  passover,  171,  264. 

Secrets  revealed  by  Suleiman  of  Ada- 
na  confirmed,  97. 

Semites,  primitive  religion  of,  among 
Syrians  and  Arabs,  12,  13. 

Semites,  modern,  56  fi;  no  ethical  con- 
ception of  God,  66. 

Semitic  worship,  survival  of,  17. 

Sheiks,  religious,  among  Arabs,  64. 

Shrines.  17. 

"Simplicity  of  our  minds,"  65. 

Sin,  not  conceived  of  as  guilt,  129,  130. 

Singing  and  dancing,  218. 

Sodomites,  149. 

Son  of  God,  born  of  virgin,  no  mystery 
to  Oriental,  242.  243- 

Spirits,  evil,  in  caves,  184. 

"Spirit  for  spirit,"  225. 

Stones,  medium  of  divine  revelation. 

84. 
Stream,  property  of  saint  at  Nebk,  88. 
Substitution,  208. 
Sufiism.  basis  of  Babiism,  109. 
Sun  temples  in  Syria,  105. 
Syncretism.  124. 
Syrian  Protestant  College,  library  of, 

23. 

Table  of  God,  74- 

Theophany,  seat  of,  regarded  as 
shrine,  93,  i33,  i34- 

Threshold,  place  of  sacrifice,  233;  re- 
newed when  the  house  has  been 
unfortunate,  233. 

"  Times  of  ignorance."  170. 


INDICES. 


285 


Tours  in  Syria,  lalse  idea  tiiat  it  is 
dangerous  to  travel  in  summer,  23. 

Traditionalists,  241. 

Travels,  preliminary,  22  ff;  1898-1899, 
extent  of,  32,  33. 

Trees,  hung  with  rags,  91;  under  which 
saints  rested,  holy,  93. 

Unspiritual  views  of  the  deity,  126. 

Vicarious  use  of  green  cloth,  140. 

Virgin,  sacred,  115. 

Vocation  in  travel,  first  discovered  in 

company  with  Messrs.  March  and 

Nelson,  27. 


Vows,  payment  of,  141. 

Voyage  from  New  York  to  Beirut,  24. 

Wages  of  muleteers,  cheaper  in  Syria 

than  in  Palestine,  32. 
Walnut  tree,  sacred  in  flames,  93. 
Water  for  irrigation  in  Syrian  Desert, 

199. 
Ways  and  means,  29. 
Weli,  invitation  to  shrine,  81. 
Wells  in  South  country,  36. 
"  Whited-sepulchres,"  141. 
Writing,  Arabs  fear  it  as  "  black  art," 

20,  201. 


III.— ARABIC   AND   OTHER   SEMITIC   WORDS. 

Definitions  and  illustrations  may  be  found  by  reference  to  pages. 


'Ain  Fowar,  89. 

Allah,  170. 

el-Arab,  63. 

Asah,  137. 

Bamoth,  137,  138,  143- 

Banah,  137. 

Bath  Zur,  110. 

Bedawi,  63. 

Bedw,  63. 

Benai  Elohim,  120. 

Bet  Allah,  228. 

Beth  Elohim,  88. 

"Bismillah?    Allahu  akbar,"  173. 

Bismillah,  rahman  er-rahim,  236. 

Dahhiyeh,  148,  175,  209,  211,  223. 

Dakhiel,  214. 

Debah,  231. 

Dekr,  117. 

Dhabaha,  230. 

Dhabh,  172. 

Dhibh,  230. 

Eed  Kirbam,  170. 

Fada,  195. 

Fedou,  178,  195,  196,  197,  200,  202,  205, 

206,  209,  210,  232. 
Fellahin,  63. 
Fidee,  201,  207,  209. 
Fidyeh,  207. 
Goal,  76. 


Hedaya,  170. 

Henna,  185. 

Id  dahhiyeh,  i8i. 

Idu  M-Azha,  195. 

llani-ja,  no. 

Jan,  ahl  el-ard,  190. 

Jinn,  60,  89,  150. 

Kadesh,  149. 

Kdsh,  149. 

Kedeshah,  149. 

Kafara,  S3,  210. 

KafTara,  209,  210. 

Kalat,  el-Kursi,  87. 

Keffareh,  178,  209,  210,  211,  221,  233. 

Khuddr,  84,  95,  197. 

Kibla,  145. 

Kipper,  53,  210. 

Kis,  172. 

Kubbeh,  143. 

KufTuru,  53.  54. 

Kursi,  144,  171. 

Kursi  el-Aktab,  87. 

Madhbah,  172,  230,  231. 

Makam,  143,  231. 

Mar,  76. 

Mar  Jirjis,  77. 

Mar  Vehanneh,  141. 

Mazzeboth,  88. 

Medayfeh,  42,  186. 


286 


INDICES. 


Mejnun,  150. 
Meshhad,  Ho. 
Mezars,  184,  231. 
Midbah,  230. 
Midd,  162. 
Nebi  eyyub,  88. 
Negeb,  62. 
Piastre,  174. 
Ramah,  136. 
Rotl,  174- 
Saraph,  137. 
Sayyidat  az-Zahra,  154. 
Sayyideh,  154. 


Semn,  80,  185. 

Sheik,  64. 

Tannur,  1S3. 

Tezekereh,  Turkish  passport,  loi. 

Ulia,  77. 

Umm  Shakakif,  82,  144- 

Weli,  76,  77,  78.  89,90. 

Ya  rubb  khattiti,  125. 

Zabah,  172,  231. 

Zabh,  172,  231. 

Zeyareh,  213,  231. 

Zikr,  164. 


IV.     SCRIPTURE  REFERENCES. 


Genesis. 

iii,  21 73 

iv,  3-4 71 

vi,  1-4 120 

viii,8-io 73 

xi.  5 74 

xi.  6 72 

xii,  2       134 

xiv,  13 133 

xiv,  14 56 

xviii,  I 133 

xviii,  20,  21 74 

xxi,  33 133 

xxii,  14 93 

xxvi,  25       133 

xxviii,  i5,  19.  22 88 

xxviii,  20-22 159 

xxix,  9 37 

xxix,  26       151 

xxxi,  13       8S 

xxxi,  48       80 

xxxi,  54       ^34 

xxxii,  24-30 74 

XXXV,  7       88 

XXXV,  14 88 

xliii.  9 130 

xlvi,  1 133 

xlvi,  1-27 57 

Exodus. 

ii,  i6-2i       37 

iii.  I        134 


iii,  2-4 92 

iv,  21       70 

iv,  27       134 

viii,  15,  32        70 

ix,  12       70 

X,  20,  27       70 

xi,  10      70 

xii,  7       54 

xii,  37-38 57 

xiv,  4,  S,  17 7° 

xxi,  6 no 

xxii,  7-g      no 

xxii,  II        163 

xxiv,  4 88 

xxiv,  13 134 

XXV,  30        74 

xxxii,  5,  6,  19       166 

xxxiv,  13 88 

Leviticus. 

V,  7,  II 2IJ 

vii,  8,  32,  33 147 

xiv,  32 212 

xvii,  II        194 

xix,  9,  10 163 

Numbers. 

XXI,  29 122 

xxii,  41;  xxxiii,  4 i37 

Deuteronomy. 

i,  I 185 

xii,  2       135 


INDICES. 


287 


xii.  3       ^^ 

xii,  II,  12,  17,  18 167 

xvi,  22 88 

xviii,  I 218 

xviii,  3 147 

xxiii,  17 149.  'S3 

xxxii,  4       87 

Joshua. 

vii,  1-12 130 

xiii,  14 218 

xiii,  17 137 

XV,  53 36 

Judges. 

vi,  II,  21,  24 134 

ix,6 134 

ix,  13 74 

xi,  II 134 

xi,  30.  31.  34-36 168 

xxi,  19,  21 i67 

Ruth. 
iii,  12 76 

I  Samuel. 

i.  3 146 

i.  9-11 157 

i,  24,  25 202 

ii,  12-15       173 

ii,  25       no 

ix,  12,  13 135 

xiv,  33,  34 234 

XV,  2-20 130 

xvi,  14-16 23 

xvii,  53 130 

xviii,  10 69 

xxi,  16 74 

XXV,  40-43 36 

xxvi,  19 71 

II  Samuel. 

V,  24      93 

vi.  14 169 

XV,  8 159 

XV,  30,  32 134 

xxiii,  3 87 

xxiv,  I 69 

I  Kings. 

iii.  4.  5 135 

xi.  7 136 


xviii,  30 134 

xxii,  39  no 

xxii,  43 138 

II  Kings. 

iii,  2 88 

v,  12 92 

xii,  3;  xiv,  4 13s 

xvii,  9 137 

xvii,  10;  xviii  4        88 

xxi,  3;  xxiii,  8,  15 137 

xxiii,  8-13       77 

xxiii,  14 88 

I  Chronicles. 
xxi,  I 69 

Job. 

i,  6-12,  ii,  1-6 122 

i,  13-19 127 

ii,  10       6g 

iii,  13-18 121 

iv,  7 128 

viii,  6 128 

ix,  30,  31 244 

xix,  25 76 

xxii,  5-10 128 

xliii,  5 244 

Psalms. 

xxii,  25,  26      159 

xiv 110 

xiv,  12-16 Ill 

•i.  4 243 

Ixii,  2 87 

Ixxxii,  I no 

Isaiah. 

ii.2 134 

vi,  5 244 

vi,  9,  10       70 

xiv,  9,  10 121 

xix,  19 88 

XXX,  29        87 

liii,  6       24S 

Ixiii,  I 39 

Jeremiah. 

ii,  20 136 

iii.  2 137 

xix,  S 137 

xx.xii,35 137 


288 


INDICES. 


EZEKIEL. 

xi,  39-43 237 

XX,  28,  29 136 

HOSEA. 

ii,  5.  8,  12 162 

ii.  7,  13. 15 137 

iii,  4 88 

iv,  13 137 

iv,  14 149 

iv.  12,  13 135 

ix,7 151 

xi.  8,  9 245 


Amos. 


iii,  6  . 
V,  21-23 


69 
167 


MiCAH. 

iv,  I 134 


Malachi. 
ii.  II 123 

Matthew. 
xxiii,  27      141 

Luke. 

i;39 36 

ii,  22-28 202 

xiii,  1-5 128 

John. 

V.  2,  3 90 

ix.  I 127 

Acts. 
xix,  II,  12 92 

Hebrews. 

i,  8.  9 Ill 

ix,  22 194 


V.  QUOTATIONS  FROM  THE  KORAN. 


ii,  258;  iii.  61 76 

iii,  191,  194 210 

iv,  59 125 

xvii,  5-7 125 


xxu,  35       174 

xxxvii,  io7 230 

xxxviii,  3-9 125 

xxxix,  36 210 


DATE  DUE 


GAYLORD 


h  •> 


Speer  L'b'a'J., 


._.._„ 11 


